Dropout Nation

3 Comments

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2. Cap Lee says:

   November 10, 2011 at 11:12 pm

   Agreed that focus should be put on reducing achievement gaps as soon as we know what they are. They are NOT determined by an artificial test score for many reasons. Go here for some of those: http://www.wholechildreform.com/nclbtestingnotvalid.html

   Actually those who are chasing the test scores are taking kids like lemmings to the sea, away from real learning into an artificial form of success. Thus leaving kids unable to generalize information only leaving them to regurgitate it.

   Until we change the system away from the one, developed during slavery with that agenda, into a system that respects the intelligence and abilities of all kids, will we truly be doing great damage to those kids we are trying to help.

   A system must take kids from where they are, not promoting them with a D- and not pushing them so far behind that they can’t catch up. We must realize that kids are not as the Stepford Kids, educatioanlly pure. That once they start demonstrating proficiencies, being assessed based on what they can do, a whole new group will rise to thew top. However, if we succeed at closing the testing gap, we will fail by turning kids into mindless robots without a lick of common sense.

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