The Dumbing Down of America’s Students…What?

This was one article that I just had to blog about and I’m pretty certain there will be many more folks who will want to chime in on this one…here goes…the article I’m referring to is written by Ian Urbina entitled “As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards”.

Every time we change (and I mean lessen, lower, reduce) the standards established for students as to what is necessary for them to function in the real world, we don’t just cripple them, we put our entire country at a disadvantage!  Are the powers that be listening to what many Americans are saying?  It just doesn’t make sense to lower the bar because we, as adults and as the school system, haven’t been able to figure out how to raise students to the bar.  I mean goodness sake, we are already losing jobs to other countries because their workforce is better prepared and has both the skills and aptitude to flourish in our 21st century.  Technology is not going away and we know it’s getting more and more integrated into every aspect of our lives…regardless of the type of work we do.  If kids are coming out of school ill prepared…what can we expect of them?  We, in essence, are setting them up to fail; not to succeed!  How can we live with that?

It’s not about making exams easier; it’s not about teaching a student how to take an exam; it’s not about making them more dependent on the system…hard work, effort, learning to deal with challenges, overcoming obstacles are all a part of how you make a person grow and learn and succeed.  At some point though…I know we need to integrate some assessment piece to tell us whether or not this student is ready and capable to move beyond high school.  I agree 100% and perhaps a solution to our problem is that we have only one assessment tool used for all students.  Ideally it would be great if 100% of high school students entered college and graduated with a higher degree…well folks we all know that in the real world we don’t see that.  So why can’t we make more than one assessment tool for students?  For those planning on attending college, they can take the college assessment tool.  For those not planning on going to college, they can take the workplace assessment tool.  If we have ELL learners who are getting ready to graduate, why can’t we develop a standard ELL  assessment tool to indicate whether or not they are prepared to function in a real world environment and be able to communicate successfully at the same time?  Could there be other categories used for other students?  Why not?  I think we need to get out of the “one test fits all” mentality folks. 

I really would love to hear from you on this topic…I know that many of you have good things to say…join me!