U.S. Students Lose Ground On Reading Tests
U.S. fourth-graders have lost ground in reading ability compared with kids around the world, according to results of a global reading test.

Test results released Wednesday showed U.S. students, who took the test last year, scored about the same as they did in 2001, the last time the test was given, despite an increased emphasis on reading under the No Child Left Behind law.

Still, the U.S. average score on the Progress in International Reading Literacy test remained above the international average. Ten countries or jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and three Canadian provinces, were ahead of the United States this time. In 2001, only three countries were ahead of the United States.

The 2002 No Child Left Behind law requires schools to test students annually in reading and math, and imposes sanctions on schools that miss testing goals.

The goal of No Child Left Behind IS that it''ll do away with public schools altogether. If your school passes these tests (which really only test memorization, not learning) then the following year the level required to pass is raised. It''s raised every year until eventually your school will be in the position where it has to have 100% of the students passing 100% of the tests 100% of the time. Highly unlikely. After a number of years of NOT meeting this impossible goal your school is legally required by NCLB to pay to have the students go to a private school in the form of waviers, which don''t have to meet this impossible standard. In the end public education money will be going completely to private schools and the public schools will be shut down. After that it''s one short step to declaring the waivers as a luxury entitlement, cut them off and only those parents who can afford to send their kids to private schools will do so. Every one else is out. This is a neocon dream. No public schools and no school taxes at all.
Posted by SgtRDS at 06:01 PM : Nov 28, 2007