I'll bet Condaleeza Rice is really jealous
I thought Bush had a crush on Condy, all this time....
Spellings was a major player in drafting the No Child Left Behind education initiative. It's one of the biggest failings of our current education system.
"The No Child Left Behind Act, passed in January 2002, requires each state to demonstrate that it has developed challenging standards for students in reading and math and, in future years, science. Each state must annually test every child's progress in reading and math in third through eighth grades and at least once during 10th through 12th grades."
What this does is test, test and test. Currently, there are 21 days of standardized testing in our local high school. That is one full month of instruction!! Taken up to do what? Find out if there's enough instruction going on? And what of all the days of preparation? These tests are not tests of the student's abilities - it is a test that is trying to find some "accountability" of the teachers. So the teachers respond by teaching only what the test will cover.
Instead of trying to make a teacher's job dependent on their student's ability to take tests, we should have merit pay and local accountability for teachers. Teachers should have an annual review of their performance by their supervisors - the local school principal. What, you say? That leaves too much in the hands of principal's who may not be qualified? You mean, just like your boss at your company? That's the way the world works. If your boss is a failure, then his/her supervisor will have to make them accountable, just the way a school principal will have to be held accountable by their supervisor. Is all testing bad? No, but when it gets in the way of learning, when it is truly designed not to aid the student but the administration, then it is badly flawed. After all those years of supporting the public school system, this crazy movement toward testing is the straw that broke the camel's back, and we moved our boys into private school. Currently, there is *one* day of testing - and that is either the PSAT or SAT, depending on the grade level.
I thought Bush had a crush on Condy, all this time....
Spellings was a major player in drafting the No Child Left Behind education initiative. It's one of the biggest failings of our current education system.
"The No Child Left Behind Act, passed in January 2002, requires each state to demonstrate that it has developed challenging standards for students in reading and math and, in future years, science. Each state must annually test every child's progress in reading and math in third through eighth grades and at least once during 10th through 12th grades."
What this does is test, test and test. Currently, there are 21 days of standardized testing in our local high school. That is one full month of instruction!! Taken up to do what? Find out if there's enough instruction going on? And what of all the days of preparation? These tests are not tests of the student's abilities - it is a test that is trying to find some "accountability" of the teachers. So the teachers respond by teaching only what the test will cover.
Instead of trying to make a teacher's job dependent on their student's ability to take tests, we should have merit pay and local accountability for teachers. Teachers should have an annual review of their performance by their supervisors - the local school principal. What, you say? That leaves too much in the hands of principal's who may not be qualified? You mean, just like your boss at your company? That's the way the world works. If your boss is a failure, then his/her supervisor will have to make them accountable, just the way a school principal will have to be held accountable by their supervisor. Is all testing bad? No, but when it gets in the way of learning, when it is truly designed not to aid the student but the administration, then it is badly flawed. After all those years of supporting the public school system, this crazy movement toward testing is the straw that broke the camel's back, and we moved our boys into private school. Currently, there is *one* day of testing - and that is either the PSAT or SAT, depending on the grade level.
posted by Lou Schwing at 11:31 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home