This information will be on the test...

Sadly, standards extinguish many learning opportunities...If it isn't tested, it surely doesn't need to be offered. Do you buy that?

Our children are in 96 minute classes now, slots deemed neccessary for intensive devotion to a menu of pre-selected courses. The courses are taught by scripts and are harnessed by pacing guides. Curriculum is based directly on county and state and federal testing, except for Advanced Placement, which is likewise controlled by the guides and tests owned and sold by the College Board company. Many of the other "learning" opportunities are purchased from other federally endorsed Educational vendors.

Thirteen year olds, in their freshman year of High School are given the first indoctrination to the PSAT exam, also owned by the College Board company. Although the accelerated math schedule now has a growing percentage of students taking advanced math classes earlier, they still have not had the opportunity to experience much of what is tested on these grueling high stakes exams. Nevermind that, we are led to believe, the students are benefiting, once again, from the testing experience itself; goodness knows they will have many, many more tests to take before they are finished their public school careers, it just makes sense to get them used to it...

Doesn't it?

a.) I feel nauseous.
b.) My child is stressed, tired and sick of this.
c.) Maybe we need to rethink this whole "reform" movement.
d.) Someone is making a whole lot of money at my child's expense and making unauthorized charges on our future.
e.) all of the above...


Philadelphia Grapples with History Mandate

Despite overwhelming agreement that high schools need to teach more African-American history, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission's decision to mandate such a history course as a graduation requirement has stirred debate inside the state.

Philadelphia's poor performance on the PSSA standardized tests has raised the concern that reading and writing should take precedence over the new history class. "If 75 percent of eleventh-grade students are below basic standards, how can we expect students to learn such comprehensive material when they don't have a grasp of basic reading skills?" asks Beth Williams, spokeswoman for John Perzel, the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. "You wouldn't go to graduate school right after high school."

Gregory Thornton, Philadelphia's chief academic officer, answers critics by saying the number of students testing below PSSA's standard level has decreased during the past three years. "Just because a kid can't read at a great level doesn't mean he can't understand. You keep raising the bar and instead of saying kids need less, we say they need more," he says.

Just the Facts

The African-American history course under scrutiny was created in the 1960s in response to student-led protests demanding the school board include a class to reflect Philadelphia's growing African-American population. The in-depth course begins with a study of African civilizations and then examines the African-American experience in the U.S., exploring themes such as civil rights. Philadelphia, the first state to make the course a graduation requirement, created a standardized curriculum to be used in all of its schools.

http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=1272