The heavy focus of public education today is primarily limited to
standardized test performance and the proliferation of privatized
charter schools complete with private contractors teaching the tests,
usurping the authority at all levels from state, to local communities,
to individual teacher’s lesson plans, to home schooling parents, largely
replaced by instructional software programs.
Little thought or consideration by today’s education top down
policymakers is ever given to those students who happen to score low on
all these tests. To make matters worse scores are being made public
access now which will only traumatize those children and schools scoring
far below average. Being branded as less than carries stigmatizing
effects of shame and low self-esteem that can both hurt and haunt a
person their entire life. Test scores determine placement and too often
those scoring lower in the youngest grades again can easily be branded
for the remainder of their public education years and beyond for life.
Tests always possess limitations on what they mean and measure. Many
super intelligent individuals experience test anxiety and perform
poorly. Yet with so much riding on test scores today, and the damaging
baggage that results from lower scores and lower placements, this
current system appears to be doing far more harm than good. But then
that is rarely if ever taken into account when the powerful few control
the lives of so many.
***Read full article here***
*More information here
No comments:
Post a Comment