Posted on 03/29/2011 5:29:03 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Monday that students should take fewer standardized tests and school performance should be measured in other ways. Too much testing makes education boring for kids, he said.
"Too often what we have been doing is using these tests to punish students," the president told students and parents at a town hall hosted by the Univision Spanish-language television network at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C.
Obama, who is pushing a rewrite of the nation's education law that would ease some of its rigid measurement tools, said policymakers should find a test that "everybody agrees makes sense" and administer it in less pressure-packed atmospheres, potentially every few years instead of annually.
At the same time, Obama said, schools should be judged on criteria other than student test performance, including attendance rate.
[snip]
Obama, who has been pushing his education agenda all month, has expressed concern that too many schools will be unable to meet annual proficiency standards under the No Child Left Behind law this year. The standards are aimed at getting 100 percent of students proficient in math, reading and science by 2014, a goal now widely seen as unrealistic.
The Obama administration has proposed replacing those standards with a loftier yet less prescriptive requirement that by 2020 all students graduating from high school should be ready for college or a career.
Obama wants Congress to send him a rewrite of the 2001 law before the start of a new school year this fall. Although his education secretary, Arne Duncan, has been working hard with lawmakers of both parties, the deadline may be unrealistic with Congress focused on the budget and the economy. Congressional Republicans also look unwilling to sign off on Obama's plans to increase spending on education.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Didn’t Kennedy write the current achievement standards? How about bringing more competition rather than less.
Pray for America
Being ‘present’ was enough to make him president, but only one person at a time can have that job.
Speaking of prisons: School administrators (wardens) are more afraid of being labeled a "dangerous" school than labeled academically "failing."
Public school
I wonder if that includes doctors, pilots, nuclear physicist, etc. or in essence those that have your or a loved ones life in their hands.
This is beyond stupid!
Indeed, testing is one of the many ways to improve learning. It is also a tool the educator can use to determine areas where re-teaching can improve student understanding and performance.
Attendance is how you bring in the MONEY to give the teachers their ridiculously high pay and benefits.
LoL!!! The liberal mind is unable to recognize its own hypocrisy.
wow.
Obama really is a moron
The standards are aimed at getting 100 percent of students proficient in math, reading and science by 2014, a goal now widely seen as unrealistic.
So, it turns out that half the children are below average. Who could ever have guessed?
I am sure our government will come up with some way to spend lots of money while trying to prove that every child can be above average. I suppose they could make the test so easy everyone can pass, that would solve it.
We have a President who is deliberately putting our country down the drain in every area of life.And he has many allies.We must do EVERYTHING we can to win the 2012 Election.
It would shock no one if Obama wanted to create a union for welfare recipients.
At least Chauncey was a gardener.
With this “leadership” there will be “no growth in the spring,” only a U.S.A. withering on the vine.
Judge schools by attendance rate.
Free breakfast for all students and teachers = take attendance.
Okay, class dismissed.
Get the federal government the hell out of education, period.
Obama said, schools should be judged on criteria other than student test performance, including attendance rate.
Hmmmmmm...seems way too many schools, for far too long, already just grant a worthless 'diploma' (re: certificate of attendance) to their graduates.
Hmmmmm... what would measure/indicate the student's achievements, ambitions, industriousness, perseverance, dedication.... yeah attendance rates (that's the ticket). ;)
...will require greater levels of ‘verification’ for things like doctor’s appointments.
Seems there are doctors roaming the streets of Madison WI more than willing to give 'verification' of doctor's appointments. ;)
By my junior year in high school, I loved tests. I always wanted to see how well I did against the teacher’s standard. Because my school had full semester exams, my goal on the final exam was to beat my average score on all of the tests from the semester. Usually I had to relearn what I missed. So, yes, I did learn from the tests.
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