Of course there are always those students. But in too many cases the under-performing students are those that normally would have been in special ed or ESL. These students were removed into separate alternative schools, thus changing the pool of test scores for many high schools. I have added two URLs that are on topic, but not about segregating poor testers from the rest of the schools to fix the scores. Maybe some on the list have that information. It's all well and good to make better efforts at separating those who can from those who can't in classrooms, (although that is another argument) but you have to be honest about your testing, thus your "achievements" and thus your "rewards". They say they want accountability in the schools. So let's be sure we know the composition of the test pool. I'm not suggesting that all of Texas' alleged improvements in scores over the past decade were solely due to Enron-like cooking the books by less-than honorable means. I just don't take at face value anything that claims dramatic improvements in less than five years. Real curriculum changes take much more time than that to be fruitful. It takes Texas-sized chutzpah for Bush to claim credit for what Govs. Clements and Richards initiated. But we've got to get away from this Quarterly-reporting mentality as if schools were reporting to Wall Street. Judging the results of curriculum changes takes time. We cannot demand quick results just because the business/political lobby says so. Texas, like many states, has a tremendous diversification of students based on demographics, worker migration, incomes and skill levels. They have had to admit they weren't as golden as they bragged they were, or at least their favorite-son candidate claimed. But it goes back to this, in my opinion: if you do only half the job, you've not made any real progress. We don't need band aids here and there, we need surgery, and that means the public recognizing we have a substantial problem. I don't think they do. Karen See http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/30/education/30LESS.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28460-2002Oct27.html
Arthur wrote: By jove, I think I agree with Harry. By kicking some out, at least we can move away from the "dumbing down" that is currently going on. Karen responded: Yes, perhaps. But that's also why some schools are showing improved test scores, as reported in Texas and other states, after kicking out under-performing students, thus producing a false rise in test scores that has nothing to do with improved curriculums. Arthur wrote: Maybe the underperforming students were "not willing" to perform students and perhaps class was not the best place for them. At some point people have to fit into the various slots offered by society. Outgoing Mail Scanned by NAV 2002
