[IP] "NCLB: The Implausible Dream"
Begin forwarded message:
From: Jim Huggins <jhuggins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: June 13, 2005 9:47:05 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Ip ip <ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: "NCLB: The Implausible Dream"
On Sat, 11 Jun 2005, David Farber wrote:
NCLB's implausible dream
Jennifer Wilmetti
PERSPECTIVE
[...]
In Wyoming, none of the mandated tests are used to hold students
accountable. Students learn this very quickly and fail to take these
tests seriously. A couple of years ago, I was speaking with a class
that
included the valedictorian at our high school about the WyCAS test.
When
asked, the students, including the valedictorian, said that they
hadn't
taken the test seriously! If this young man, who was obviously bright
and driven, didn't take it seriously, how many students did? And yet,
this is one of the measures of whether we as teachers are doing our
job
or not!
In Michigan, the tests (at least at the high school level) are taken
more
seriously, for a simple reason. If you pass all the tests (including
those at the junior high level), you get a $3000 scholarship to any
Michigan university, public or private. (It's $1000 if you go
out-of-state.)
Now, this program isn't without its own problems. It's entirely
self-funded by the state of Michigan, so it's an easy target for budget
cutting. (The original funding came from the tobacco settlement; it's
obviously long gone by now.) Already, the award is payable in two
annual
installments (if you drop out after your freshman year, you lose one).
And beginning next year, you also have to perform 40 hours of community
service during your high school career.
But, lo and behold, students are taking the tests seriously now. You
get
the behavior you reward. (Didn't Pavlov tell us something about that?)
--Jim Huggins
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