They keep changing the tests and changing how they grade them. I HATE STATE TESTING!!!! One thing I really liked on Obama's platform was that he was in favor of discontinuing the compensation of teachers based on test results. Teachers don't have a choice about the quality of students they teach. They can't control the family situations the kids come from, the parental support they are receiving on their education, etc.

Let's let the teachers teach the curriculum. Let's not make the teachers teach to the test.

dineer526-these are my thoughts exactly. I have two kids in elementary school, and two in middle school. I substitute teach at the elementary school a couple of days a week. Based on my observations, these are my opinions: our elem. school scored low, but I truly do not feel that is a reflection on the quality of education my children recieve, or on the education available to anyone there. It's a reflection of the population. There are increasingly large numbers of kids that are simply not outfitted for academic success. The causes and reasons are myriad, and where I do NOT agree with Obama is that Head Start is useful. Gains from any pre-K experience are temporary at best. These children come from homes with language barriers, parents who don't value education, parents too overwhelmed for many reasons, just a variety of both unfortunate circumstances and cultural attitudes that are NOT going to be overcome by more money for schools or "better teaching". The NCLB seemed like a noble enterprise-who doesn't think it's in the best interest of society to give all kids a great education-but the reality is giving them the opportunity is not the same as being held liable when they don't take it. Teachers have so much on their plates these days-and now the pressure to bring lower achievement up means many higher performing kids don't get the attention they need-the ones truly motivated and eager to learn, and it breaks teachers' hearts that they have to focus so much on the ones that won't/can't meet them half way. It's a sad state of affairs, and noone wins.

Another thing-they have now made it a rule in the schools here that special ed kids (except for the absolutely lowest functioning kids) must be mainstreamed. They still get some pull-out, but now you have teachers who have no specific special ed training trying to deal with these kids as well. Those kids are not getting the individualized attention they need, the other kids are having time taken away from them, and the teachers are spread even thinner. The most effective means of educating in my opinion, is differentiating by ability. Last year they experimented with fifth graders at our school being clustered in three different groups according to level. They moved through the academic portions of the day in these groups, but went back to homeroom for specials, recess, lunch, etc. It was amazing to watch the kids flourish at every level. The higher kids soared to the stars with nothing holding them back, no behavior issues, and they could just learn and work unencumbered.The lower kids weren't imitimidated, and actually behaved better and focused more. I think they felt more secure. It just worked great.

Lilybug, I love you for advocating differentiating by ability! Unfortunately, I dont think the educational establishment at this point favors the idea. It works so well, for kids at all levels, but unfortunately educational "research" does not support it, or show that. But I'm with you. I've seen "average kids" totally blossom when they were with kids like themselves. Rather than being the ignored mediocre ones, the ones that no one cares about, not the smart kids, not the slow ones that need a lot of help, they could have instruction aimed right at them! the average ones. Everyone deserves to be treated as special, at their own level of specialness. Differentiation by ability can do this! But unfortunately, competitive parents cant stomach their kids being labeled, or "tracked" (the evil word). I think the BEST solution is grouping by ability. But given that, any parent can choose to have their child in any group. So if a parent of a mediocre child is dumb enough to put their kid in a gifted class where there kid will not excel, let them. Just because a child is taught appropriately to their level does not mean they are being held back. In fact, usually the opposite. A slow child can excel so much faster when being taught at their speed, rather than made to feel dumb in a fast class. Ability grouping is the way to go. But it'll never happen here. Here teachers are expected to teach at all levels at all times to every child. IMPOSSIBLE. Obviously.

I am thrilled to hear it was tried in the fifth grade here. DId the kids like it???

I agree with you Dineer too! Testing, testing, testing. kids don't need it, nor do teachers.

Schools need to be about learning, not testing. When I taught, I usually could have give the exact same grades to all my students without having them take tests, as they made by taking the tests. If you know your students, and the way they are learning, and how they perform in class on assignments, by interacting, with labs, etc., the teacher can tell from their work what level they are learning on without "the test". There is obviously a place for tests, but not as a constant criteria for the competency of the students or teachers.

Where was this report before the election? This is a result of Democrat education policies We just signed on for several more years of the same! The Democrat just want uneducated population, they tend to be less questioning and more easily swayed by the Socialist propaganda spewed out in the heat of campaigns with no intent of the politician carring it out orthe politician knowing what is being promised won't work but just have the people be unkniwing enough to accept the drivel and put them in power! You got what you wanted Anddon't forget Mary Easley's feelng that she is Queen of NC and entitled to spend your money on her comfort at her convenience without consequence!!

( Essay Service ) and ( Essay Writing )

"State and local education officials are downplaying the significance of the change, attributing it to the new reading exams in elementary and middle schools. Some drop in performance is normal in the year that new exams are introduced, school officials say."

The school official who just called the exams "new" should have said the tests have been "renormed. " The tests are made harder in order to keep eveyone from passing. A good assessment will have a bell curve--some do really well, some fail, and most are somewhere in the middle. If the test is too easy, it doesn't give any information about how kids are doing. The test was too easy before, so the state raised the bar. This always happens when new norms are established. You can't compare scores across the two exams (the one from the year before and the new one). The only real comparisons you can do there is to look at a student's percentile rank from one test to the next.

It's how tests are made.
___________
Mom to Jude

Maybe it's time for us as parents to realize that the education of our kids is OUR responsibility, not the government's. The government has done a lousy job with just about everything it tries to accomplish. It costs around $8,000 a year to educate one child in the public school system with our tax dollars and the kids are failing.

How much does it cost to homeschool? A FRACTION of that price and homeschool kids outperform even private school kids.

I was PETRIFIED to start homeschooling my kids....but it can be done and done successfully. Last year my second grader maxed out at an eighth grade reading level when she was tested for the state's requirements.

Whatever school your kids go to, I recommend that we as parents educate ourselves in the art of teaching our kids HOW to learn and how to love learning. A good book for that is "An Echo In Celebration" by Leigh Bortins.

It's a phenomenal read and it's very inspiring. Stop relying on the government!

:)

Cady
www.cadydidrooms.com