No Child Left Behind Because Tests Are Dumbed Down?

For at least the last 30 years I have witnessed the continuing dumbing down of America. They have standardised tests. All the students go to the same schools, with the same teachers studying the same things, but when it comes time to take the test and certain portains of the students don't do as well, we hear the cries of how the tests are not written for these students. They are written in language some students don't speak at home, and I am talking about English here and American students. But, because these students don't speak the same language as their counterparts, the test are declared to be biased in favor of Caucasians. Perfect example, one negro educator took issue with one question on the test. He said "They show a picture of two squirrels and the question is, 'Which squirrel is beginning to climb the tree?' The black student will not know what beginning means so you have to word it 'fixing to climb the tree' and then the black student will understand the question." I am not making this up folks, it really happened here.

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Whenever I read any comments to any blog, I see with my own eyes evidence that most people did not benefit from their years in school.

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sure make it easy for them,, heck you cant fail them if you do the test is obviously tainted, slanted toward one race, so why not make 2+2 =5 heck they tried didnt they? send home a bad report card on little johnny or susie and mom and dad are going to be screaming at the school for making their kids feel bad,, only in a dumbed down liberal were all equal no one can fail america can this kind of nonsense happen,,

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To Jeremy: I don't know where you or your teacher friends live now, but where have you been for the last 40 years?

I'm currently 57 yo. Even when I attended a rural high school in PA, advanced placement (AP) courses in Chemistry, English, Math, and Physics were offered.

My son (who is currently 24 yo) was enrolled in an advanced curriculum program when he was in elementary school in Leander, TX.

So...., these programs have been around in the US for a long time.
If the students and parents choose to not participate in them, or if they are incapable of participating in them, who is at fault?
If you think Europe and Asia have much superior systems, pack your bags......

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Schools look like they suck because parents are sucking more and more lately. How is it the teacher's fault when a student refuses to do any work, take notes, do homework, participate AT ALL?? How is it the teacher's fault when a student cusses him/her out in front of the class? Teachers try to involve the parents to let them know something is wrong (which obviously began long before their school years) and they get no response whatsoever. If parents don't care how their child performs in school, why should that child care at all? Parents these days are so worried about giving their children all the material, unnecessary things in life; the best cell phones, ipods, flat-screen t.v.s for their bedroom, computers, etc.... Do they ever consider just sitting and talking with them??? Watching t.v. WITH them??? Having dinner as a family? Asking to see their completed homework? Helping them study? I just don't get it. I have 3 children, my oldest is in 8th grade. I would never make excuses for my son if he wasn't doing the right thing. I would never put a t.v. in his room. He is not allowed to play videogames on a school night. I have never asked for my child to re-take a test that he may have done poorly on. I would never go to his school at 5pm to find homework that he forgot to bring home! I make my child accountable, and guess what.... He gets straight As, plays on the soccer team, volunteers and is a great, well-rounded young man. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING A PARENT PEOPLE!!!! There is nothing wrong with telling your children "NO" from time to time!!!! There IS something wrong, however, when you enable, spoon feed, coddle, make excuses for and allow disrespect from your child!!! And unfortunately the rest of us have to deal with your child when they are unleashed into the real world.

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The dumbing down of America began about 40 years ago when the liberals started taking over our schools and they have been too busy pushing the liberal agenda to actualy educate our kids

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No child left behind....what a dag-gone joke. Many children are left behind or just pushed through the educational system. Many come out of school and still do not even know how to read. It's sad. These tests aren't doing anything to help our children. I've known children to cry over these tests because teachers are so focused on the tests, they forget about the children and how it effects them. We need to find a better way to make our educational systems better. How about focusing on the children and focusing on helping them learn period. Another thing...there are children with learning disabilities and these children are also expected to learn at the same rate as the others. It's not possible. They are expected to take the test at the same time as the other children and they are in no way prepared for it. Why make these children feel any less? They are taking a test which is way too difficult for them and that doesn't help them. That only brings their self confidence down even lower. In the classroom these kids are jumping from one subject to the next before they even comprehended what they just went over. You have to learn the basics before you jump to the next phase, otherwise, you will never catch up. Dumb. Let our kids learn. And I mean learn at their own rate so they don't have to jump past the basics before they are ready to.

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To Laughing Lady: Your comment makes me both laugh because of its insight and cry because of its reality.

So many postings on these comment pages illustrate the lack of skills in basic English, inability and lack of care for spelling, and just plain ignorance/idiocy of the posters.

I guess that I was just blessed to have had good teachers and supportive parents during my school years, some 40 to 50 years ago.

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"No child left behind?" What school systems like these are doing is leaving everyone behind. Many school systems alter grading systems, etc. to try and "encourage" students. What this really does is give them a lower standard they need to get to to pass their classes. In my school district, students are graded from 0-4 points, with 4 being the maximum. Depending on teachers, there are different requirements to get a "4", but a 4 could range from a B to an A+. A "3" grade is "passing," but a smart student would be very disappointed to get a 3, because it is a C+ to a B-. The school system lets students pass with a 2.5 grade as well. This can give students false encouragement- they don't do so great, but they still get a 2.5 and pass, and in some cases are rewarded.
Until 8th grade math, the students are not leveled- in fact geniuses are mixed in with kids who seriously couldn't care any less about school. The district thinks it "encourages progressing students," but really discourages some and bores others to death, dragging them down.
"No child left behind" used in the wrong way can leave every child behind.

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I taught MS Science. When we had a 50 question test the "lower than average " students only had a 5 question test. If a "normal" student got 6 wrong it was a B. If a "lta" student got 2 out of 5,
they got a B.

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This is news? This has been going on in our inner city schools for decades. No Child Left Behind just added fuel to the poor teacher syndrome. If their students don't pass they are held accountable and censured, so of course, all students pass, whether they earned a passing grade or not.

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Amen, Nick! As a teacher I will take responibility when I am at fault. My problem is the parents who don't take any responsibility for anything and just blame the teacher. At our school it takes an act of congress almost to get the parents to come to school for conferences (sometimes if we offer food they will make a brief appearance!), PTO or even to pick up their sick child, but just the other day a father (who never attends any of the stated events) drove miles to school and called his son out of class (during important instruction) for an "emergency"-what was the emergency you ask? He needed the codes to the XBox because he was locked out! So until all parents see their own responsibility in their child's education, stop blaming everyone else. The majority of teachers out there work their assess off to teach children-many of whom take their cue from their parents and just don't care.

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Don't blame "no child left behind". So-called 'educators' cover their butts by making sure kids are promoted and graduated, even if they have not acquired a real education. Blame the parents, who fail to display oversight; don't monitor homework; don't attend meetings with teachers; don't attend meetings of the Board of Education; and
even worse, call the school to complain when their kids' report card is full of C's and D's instead of A's and B's.

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I so agree that tests are dumbed-down. My daughter went to Anaheim (CA) High School where they initiated an exit exam that all students had to pass to get their diploma. The first year or two not many kids passed so they made the test easier. A couple of years later they did away with the test because kids were still not able to pass it. The kids were given as many times as they needed to pass it. My daughter took the test in the 10th grade and passed with flying colors and kids in the 12th still couldn't pass it. No kid left behind is a good concept if done properly but teachers ended up passing a failing student so that they wouldn't feel bad by having to repeat a grade. There are too many kids graduating that don't know hoe to even read.

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I agree that standards have fallen. My three sisters and I all attended the same college-prep high school, and the difference between what was required for my eldest sister to graduate and the requirements for my younger sister to graduate are astonishing. In 1995, you had to have a 3.0 GPA or higher and six semesters of foreign language. In 1998 (when my second eldest sister graduated) you had to have a 3.0 GPA and four semesters of foreign language. By the time I graduated in 2005, it had been lowered to a 2.5 GPA and two semesters of foreign language. When my younger sister graduated FROM THE SAME SCHOOL in 2008, the standards for graduation had been lowered to a 2.0 GPA -- no foreign language required. We're talking about a VERY selective college-prep high school -- one that you have to take a TEST just to get into!

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