Education Standards Likely to See Toughening

President Obama and his administration have been tweaking the "No Child Left Behind" act George Bush created but are keeping their plans hush-hush. Obama's administration is going to toughen requirements on teacher quality, standards on academics and focus on helping failing schools. It also says the laws on testing will change but not disappear. They seem to be working on what many see as defects in the laws. In February Obama signed a stimulus which directed billions of dollars towards public education. The stimulus has guidelines governors must sign to receive the money. The "assurances", as they're called, include: pledge to improve quality of standardized tests, raise standards and promise to enforce a requirement that most effective teachers be assigned to all students, rich and poor. The reward money is in the hands of ecucation secretary Arne Duncan and goes to states who make good on their pleges, better known as "Race to the Top Fund". Obama is also concentrating on failing schools. Currently 6,000 of the nations 95,000 schools are labeled as needing corrective action plans or restructuring because they've fallen below test standards. The stimulus also states high schools must prepare those students who are not going to college or the military how to succeed in life.

I think our schools have gotten so overwhelmed with test scores and how much money they can earn that they've forgotten to actually "teach". I see so many kids who cannot read or write, or both, in the schools I wonder how they keep getting passed on grade to grade. I like the idea of schools teaching our kids how to prepare themselves to survive after graduating high school because not everyone will attend college, trade school or the military. Educators need to do exactly that...EDUCATE...and stop focusing so much if our kids meet proficiency on tests. Honestly, what employer is going to ask if they ranked novice, proficient or distinguished.