On 12/17/04 4:24 AM, in article ,
"Roger" wrote:

On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:46:01 -0500, Margy Natalie
wrote:

Ok, I've been too busy to read the newsgroups but you guys are really nuts!
No
Child Left Behind does NOTHING to improve student achievement. The schools
often have little to work with in the first place and I'm not talking $$. I
teach in one of the best schools in one of the best systems in the country.
My
school has an upward of 98% pass rate on the science SOL (our standards test)
but some of our kids aren't passing and no matter what I do they won't. Do
you
know if you have a borderline mentally retarded student taking science for
learning disabled kids they need to pass the test? Well, if the retarded
kids
can pass, how good is the test?

This sounds like a modernized version of "outcome based education" and
most of us know how well that worked.

Passing a kid who does not have the capability of doing the work is
not doing them any favors. Passing a kid who won't do the work is not
doing them any favors either.

I feel sorry for the kids in situations that prevent them from doing
their work, but again that is not the schools, or teachers fault and
it is not doing the kind any favors by passing them.

Lowering the qualifications for passing the tests does everyone a
disservice.


No Child Left Behind is gov-speak for No Child Allowed to Excel.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com
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The Wizard's 2004 Christmas newsletter
http://www.wizardofdraws.com/main/xmas04.html