| by Paul R. Hollrah
Now let me see if I have this right. People stand in checkout lines absolutely astounded that young people have difficulty making change for a ten dollar bill. They're amazed when school children have trouble finding the State of Oklahoma on a map. And when they realize that their local school taxes have escalated at two or three times the rate of inflation, they get angry. They complain to school boards, state legislators, members
of Congress, the president, and anyone else who will listen.
Politicians get the message. Under the theory that, whatever we measure improves, they pass a law that says public school students must be tested more often to make sure they're learning the subject matter for the appropriate grade levels. High school seniors must be tested to make sure they've earned their diplomas. Sounds good so far, but is it?
The New York Times reports on a recent six-state study conducted by Achieve, Inc., and funded by state governors and business leaders. The study reviewed and analyzed high school graduation exams in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas, and the results are troubling, to say the least.
First, and most importantly, the study shows that, when the government tells schools that they must test students as a prelude to graduation, we can't trust school administrators to devise a comprehensive exam. Upon close examination, it was found that the material included on high school graduation tests in the United States was essentially material that is taught in middle schools and junior high schools in other industrialized nations.
So, that being the case, passing the test should be a snap for prospective graduates in American high schools, should it not? Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that teachers and school administrators have apparently rigged the exams so that they could demonstrate acceptable graduation rates, that's not what has happened.
The Times story quotes Linda Graham Keegan, former Commissioner of Education in Arizona, who says that on the first administration of the test in Arizona high schools, eighty-four percent of the students failed. Arizona has continued giving the exams, apparently to prove to themselves over and over again how bad things are, but they no longer require a passing grade for graduation.
So what's wrong with public education in the United States? Without meaning to do so, the Times may have provided a major part of the answer in an unrelated story in the same edition. The Times reports that a New York State Court of Appeals judge has issued an ultimatum to the state legislature: either they come up with a way to provide New York City students with a "sound basic education" in seven weeks, or he'll do it for them.
In the opinion of the Times, "If the court takes over the schools in New York State, that will clearly mean one thing: the legislature will have failed, and failed miserably. Even more, it will mean that Gov. George Pataki abdicated his leadership, preferring to cede his job to the court rather than accept the political heat that comes with responsibility."
Isn't it just like a bunch of liberals to assess blame everywhere but where it belongs? How about the failure of parents to make sure that kids behave themselves, do their homework, and attend classes? How about the failure of students to take full advantage of their educational opportunities?
The Times tells us that the court has ruled that, because the governor and the legislature have thus far decided not to throw good money after bad, "New York City school children are being denied their constitutional right to a good education (emphasis added)." What a silly thing to say.
When will liberals ever learn that there's little that governors and legislatures can do to provide a quality public education; only parents, teachers, and students can achieve that. And will they ever learn that, if kids have a "constitutional right" to anything, they have a "constitutional right" to parents and teachers who understand what education is all about and who actually give a damn.
When we drive past our public high schools today, how can we not notice the huge parking lots and the rows upon rows of fancy cars that kids drive to school. If taxpayers will give a little thought to the matter, maybe they'll begin to understand that parents and children have apparently decided what's really important in the high school experience – and it's not necessarily what they'll find between the covers of their textbooks.
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