The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is making the problem of cheating, low academic standards, and public schools lying to parents, even worse. Under this Act, the Department of Education now requires students to pass standardized tests. Failing schools will lose federal funding and other perks if their students consistently turn in a bad performance on these tests.
Holding schools and teachers accountable, and expecting students to demonstrate what they've learned, sounds like a good idea. But this Act means that badly-taught students, victims of dumbed-down texts and bad teaching methods like new math and whole-language instruction, now have to pass difficult standardized tests they are not ready for.
As a result, millions of students may fail these tests, not because they are dumb, but because the schools never taught them to read properly or solve a math problem without a calculator. Millions of high school students with low reading and math skills now risk not graduating from high school until they pass these tests.
It is important that parents know the unvarnished truth about their children's real academic abilities, but many parents are now frantic because they see their children's failing grades on these new tests. As a result, they complain to school boards that they do not want their children taking these tests or not graduating from high school because of low test scores. To protect their children, many parents are now demanding dumbed-down tests to make sure that their kids graduate from high school and go to college.
The No Child Left Behind Act is now forcing many parents to condone schools that dumb-down their tests and standards, instead of blaming these schools for their children's failure to learn. This is a typical unintended consequence of more government laws that try to fix problems that a government-controlled school system created in the first place.
State lawmakers in New York, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and other states have yielded to parent pressure. They have scrapped or watered-down high-stakes graduation tests that proved too tough even for students in the so-called better schools in the suburbs.
In Wisconsin, state legislators backed off plans to require high school graduation tests because of strong opposition by parents from affluent suburbs. One parent group calling itself "Advocates for Education" argued that high-stakes testing would not be fair to children and would hurt educational quality in the schools.
Critics of the graduation tests were worried that the tests would put too much pressure on the children. Suburban parents lobbied parent-teacher organizations, and state legislators eventually scrapped the graduation test before a single high-school student had taken it.
Similarly, New York and Massachusetts officials yielded to pressure by parents to set low passing grades for their new graduation tests. In Virginia and Arizona, state boards of education have backed away from graduation tests that were too tough for even the so-called better schools. Only 7 percent of schools in Virginia met new achievement standards, and 9 out of 10 sophomores in Arizona schools failed a new math test.
In New York City, school authorities estimated that over 30 percent of the city's 11th-graders would not be eligible to graduate if the English language standard that will take effect next year was being applied today. Diane Ravitch of the Brookings Institute in Washington is a longtime analyst of New York's public-school system She estimated that in some neighborhoods, less than 5 percent of high-school seniors would qualify to graduate under the new standards.
Parents, particularly those with younger children, should take heed. You don't want to end up with high-school kids who may not graduate because they can't pass the new tests. In Chapters 8, 9, and the Resource section of "Public Schools, Public Menace," I explore how you can circumvent these serious problems by finding real education alternatives outside the public schools.
Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children."
Contact Information:
Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Phone: 718-447-7348.
Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel
NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
Ashton group transportation logistics management ..Dear MomOn this day set aside to honour "Mother's" let... Read More
Voices have a way of falling into a pattern, not... Read More
If your child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder then at... Read More
Q. My teenage son is turning 16 early next year... Read More
There's a phrase that's become popular over the past few... Read More
Recently, our family had the opportunity to care for sisters'... Read More
When growing up, my father frequently reminded me to "pay... Read More
Did you know that over 75% of teens aged 16-17... Read More
A learning disability is defined as a permanent problem that... Read More
'And all because of a damned cat! It's only a... Read More
No matter what you say or do, your kids will... Read More
There are only two ways to get more money:1) Increase... Read More
When it comes to the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity... Read More
KIDS AND THE NEWSMore than ever, children witness innumerable, sometimes... Read More
The girl's jaw dropped in horror as the police officer... Read More
There is nothing quite like hiking with small children. The... Read More
1. Make stronger connections among individuals and, therefore, creates a... Read More
One of the most prevalent problems of the computer age... Read More
Once, as a Learning Support Teacher, I made my way... Read More
There are software programs that you can purchase to keep... Read More
A while ago I received this story from David in... Read More
Sometimes dreams really can come true! May 8th - 11th,... Read More
In the last few years, parents started getting more and... Read More
By not planning for the future we guarantee that we... Read More
LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2005) - With Memorial Day weekend,... Read More
group transportation logistics management Highland ..One of parents' most important duties is to protect their... Read More
All of us, including your child, entered this world equipped... Read More
Imagine a child who lacks ownership of his own life,... Read More
Volunteering together is a fantastic way to spend time as... Read More
Ok. So you're a dad to be. If you're like... Read More
Do you ever wonder what is behind the occasional nasty... Read More
Dear MomOn this day set aside to honour "Mother's" let... Read More
Moms, did you ever question your value as a role... Read More
I know this Mom. She homeschools her 5 children, plus... Read More
Hope, excitement and anxiety all wrapped up in fresh haircuts... Read More
How should one look upon Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)... Read More
Look around: Your kids are counting sleeps until the last... Read More
Looking for an unusual and memorable gift? Why not preserve... Read More
For the first year or two of life outside the... Read More
The question I have for you drives right to the... Read More
What's hard for teenagersHaving people who don't understand you trying... Read More
Karen, a single never-married thirty-year old attorney has a four-year... Read More
Many working families choose a commercial or individual day care... Read More
"I wipe my baby's chin with my college diploma and... Read More
Gift shops are a kid magnet and often a trip... Read More
One of the basic issues we need to understand is... Read More
When you think about it, probably the one thing that... Read More
Being a single mother is no easy task. I know.... Read More
Little Suzy has really been having a hard time getting... Read More
My wife and I have been working on a video... Read More
Parenting |