Parents --- Your Childrens Report Card May Be Rigged
|
|
Under the "No Child Left Behind Act," public schools whose students consistently fail standardized tests can be shut down. To protect their jobs, teachers and principals are now under intense pressure to cheat - to fudge test scores and report cards to fool parents and school administrators.
Myron Lieberman, author and former high-school teacher, listed some of the ways public schools can "cheat" in his book "Public Education: an Autopsy":
1. Poor students were excluded or discouraged from taking the tests
2. Teachers assigned tests as homework or taught test items in class
3. Test security was minimal or even nonexistent
4. Students were allowed more time than prescribed by test regulations
5. Unrealistic, highly improbable improvements from test to test were not audited or investigated
6. Teachers and administrators were not punished for flagrant violations of test procedures
7. Test results were reported in ways that exaggerated achievement levels
In December 1999, a special investigation of New York City schools revealed that two principals and dozens of teachers and assistant teachers were helping students cheat on standardized math and reading tests.
Andrew J. Coulson, in his brilliant book, "Market Education: The Unknown History," sites an example of how public schools deliberately lie to parents about their children's academic abilities:
"Consistently greeted by A's and B's on their children's report cards, the parents of Zavala Elementary School had been lulled into complacency, believing that both the school and its students were performing well. In fact, Zavala was one of the worst schools in the district, and its students ranked near the bottom on statewide standardized tests. When a new principal took over the helm and requested that the statewide scores be read out at a PTA meeting, parents were dismayed by their children's abysmal showing, and furious with teachers and school officials for misleading them with inflated grades."
In 1990, three academics, Harold Stevenson, Chuansheng Chen, and David Uttal did a study of the attitudes and academic achievement of black, white, and hispanic children in Chicago. They found a disturbing gap between what parents thought their children were learning and the children's actual performance. Teachers in high-poverty schools had given A's to students for work that would have earned them C's or D's in affluent suburban schools. In the study, black mothers of Chicago elementary school students rated their child's skills and abilities quite high and thought their kids were doing well in reading and math. The children thought the same thing.
Unfortunately, the researchers found that the parents' and children's self-evaluations of their math and reading skills were way above their actual achievement levels. There was a big gap between their optimistic self-evaluations and their dismal academic performance on independent tests. Public schools were giving these children a false idea of their academic skill levels. In other words, these children were heading towards failure and no one bothered to tell them.
Parents, it would not be wise to trust any claims by teachers or school authorities about your children's alleged academic abilities, even in so-called "good" schools in suburban neighborhoods. To find out how your child is really doing, have an outside independent company test your child's reading and math skills.
If you find that your child's academic skills are far below what your local public-school led you to believe, you might want to take your child out of public school and look for better education alternatives. There is a complete Resource section in "Public Schools, Public Menace" that explores many of these quality, low-cost education alternatives.
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: lbooksusa@aol.com,
Phone: 718-447-7348.
Article Copyrighted © 2005 by Joel Turtel
NOTE: You may post this Article on an Ezine, newsletter, or other website only if you include Joel Turtel's complete contact information, and set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
|
|
|
Why Scrapbooking Moms Are The Secret Weapon In The War On Terror
There is a front line and a back end to every successful war effort. Rosie the Riveter was an icon during World War II and she was symbolic of the strong American woman who took command of the US economy and war manufacturing; without her there would have been no Allied victory.We are once again embroiled in a bitter war and just like those times in the 1940s, the time of ending is uncertain. There is one thing that is different-women are involved in both the front lines and the back end and this can only be a good thing for America.Regardless of which side of the political fence you stand upon in regards to the current war-you cannot disregard the sacrifices made by soldiers and the loved ones who b...(related: Parenting)
The Best And Worst Of Motherhood
Until the moment I became a mother, I couldn't quite understand or comprehend the depth when people say "Mothers are the strongest, most noble and loving people in this whole wide world" It's just a whole bunch of cliché stuff that I could live without, thank you very much!The pain. The joy. The sacrifices. The love. The fear. The confusion. The anxiety, panic, loss of time, loss of privacy. The internal battle between a person's own inner personality conflicting with those of being a mother. The need to be alone and oneself roughly pushed aside because a child needs caring,...(related: Parenting)
Classic Parenting: Encouragement, Praise, Acceptance, And Responsibility
Encouragement comes when you focus on your child's assets and strengths in order to build his/her self-confidence. It comes from seeing the positive. Even failures can be outstanding learning experiences. Encouragement sounds like this, "I like the way that you did that," or "I know that you can do it," or, "It looks like you worked very hard at that."
Encouragement is NOT giving compliments for work poorly done, but under those circumstances it IS inspiring your child to work harder and do better. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." -St. Paul...(related: Parenting)
Teaching Reading: Part One
One of the biggest milestones in our children's education is when they learn how to read. You've probably asked yourself, "When is the best time to teach my child to read?" You can research this until you are blue in the face, but the answer is really very simple. You've already started, because from the moment...(related: Parenting)
Co-sleeping, A Personal Story
When I was pregnant, we knew that we had some fairly fixed ideas about how we wanted to raise our child, including allowing her to share our bed for as long as she wanted to.We have been shocked and sometimes upset at other people's reactio...(related: Parenting)
5 Ways To Tell If A Preschooler Is Living In Your House
1. You reheated the same cup of coffee three times this morning.2. There is always one more person in your bed in the morning, than there was the night before.3. You can't imagine life without the Cartoon Network.4. The lock on your bathroom door is purely for decoration? After all, no locked door could withstand, "Mom? What are you doing? Mom? Can I come in? Mom? Can I show you something? Mom? Can I give you a hug? Mom? Can you hear me? Mom?5. You have started -or signed- a petition to banish the word "why" from every language known to man.Ab...(related: Parenting)
Back To School; Time To Recharge
The back-to-school shopping is done. Brand new pencils, colored markers, and notebooks fill my daughter's back pack. I've cleaned off the refrigerator in preparation for the new onslaught of pictures and class notices. School's started. She is excited to be back amongst her friends. I find myself in the everyday routine of waking up in the dark, fixing breakfast and packing lunches. Even though my daughter is old enough to drive herself to school this year, I still rush out the door behind her dressed in sweat pants and no makeup. After a quick work out and a shower, my work day finally begins. It's good to be back in the routine.But, back-to-school is also ...(related: Parenting)
Helping Your Child Make And Keep Friends
What Children Look for in a Friend?Is this child fun to be with?
Is this child trustworthy?
Does this child help me achieve my goals?
Does this child make me feel good about myself?
Is this child similar to me?Social Tasks Involved in Peer RelationshipsJoining a group or activity
Coping with success
Dealin...(related: Parenting)
Develop Your Childs Genius: The King Of Games - The Game Of Kings
Many people still think that the game of chess is appropriate for old people. In their mind's eye, they see 2 elderly people sitting across from each other in the park, playing a game of chess.Well, it might sound surprising to you, but you can teach a baby to play chess. It has shown to be extremely beneficial for children of all ages to learn to play chess, and in addition, it is very entertaining. It is impossible to describe how much value a child gets from playing chess.When my son Eric was about 2 or 3, he showed interest in board games, so I asked my husband if he knew how to play chess. I didn't know how to play Chess at the time, but luckily my husband knew the basics, and volunteered to teach little Eric. Eric took to it immediately. One day, my husband and I walked into a computer store, to bu...(related: Parenting)
Now, They?re Bullying My Daughter In Our Home: Welcome To Cyber-bullying
Last night Tom's daughter, Sue, came out of her room to see her dad and said, "I got another one of those instant messages. It says, 'tomorrow you had better not show up at s...(related: Parenting)
Your Checking Account
Checking accounts are an absolute necessity these days. You can either have a checking account or run to the bank or other outlet for money orders. Many people pay for almost everything with a check including groceries, gas, clothes and a long list of other things. When you add an ATM card to this picture, your chances for a potential problem is greatly enhanced.Don't get me wrong. There are many people that can keep their check book up to date, even deducting all of the ATM advances and automatic withdrawals as they make them. However, too many people that write checks for everything wind up not entering a check when it is written or an ATM advance when it is made. The result is a bounced check fee ...(related: Parenting)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | Contact Webmaster | Baby Care Info | All Rights Reserved. | Parenting