Riding to work this morning, I saw this ad. Apparently, the DOE has been footing quite a bill to set parents up for the idea of their children bombing the State Exams this Spring. My camera on my phone is lousy, so it's hard to read, but it says:"This spring, state exams for students in grades 3-8 will be different and more challenging. And test scores will reflect that at first ( . . . ) We're not satisfied with just teaching your children basic skills. We want them prepared for college and a career."
Does the expenditure suggest that the city is concerned about growing public dissatisfaction with the fetishization of standardized tests? About the growing number of parents who are opting their kids out of the tests? Or is this just damage control, trying to seem benevolent in the face of ever-increasing separation of the public from any form of control over public education in a world where tests and corporate educational trade secrets are strictly protected while student and teacher information is constantly for sale?
Maybe it's just a warning shot fired across the bow of students, parents, teachers, and anyone else genuinely interested in this junk science profit glut. It's going to be painful, that much is certain.
No comments:
Post a Comment