In order to support my theory, I will relate education to the automotive industry. Stay with me and read the entire blog and I promise No Reader Will Be Left Behind.
Whenever education is mentioned, the first thing one hears are the numbers. Statistics are showing that the education system is not producing the number of graduates as it did 30 years ago. The overall graduation rate has dropped significantly over the past 10 years. Presently, only 60% of students who enter the ninth grade can expect to graduate from high school in 4 years. Since that number was much higher 30 years ago, one can only assume that the public school system is failing terribly.
In the 1970's, car manufactures were required to test their cars in a 35 mph frontal crash test. Cars are rated by the amount of damage that is sustained by the car and the "passengers". Modern cars are designed to crumble and absorb the impact of the accident.
What if we changed the parameters of the test and insisted that car manufactures must use a 55 mph frontal test and sustain less damage than the 35 mph test. I'm sure all of you think this is ridiculous, but this is the plight of public school education. Its not that teachers are not teaching and schools are failing. The bar is being pushed so high, that it's nearly impossible to jump over it.
By the way, if your school is private, you won't have to complete any of the frontal crash test. Since they receive no federal funding, they are exempt from the litany of tests and mandates. We will simply judge you by graduation rate and post-secondary enrollment. One problem; private schools have entrance exams, unless you're a superstar athlete, but that's another blog entry.
Back to the message.....
The Florida senate has recently passed a measure that requires all present 6th graders to pass Algebra II and Physics as graduation requirements. How many of you even took Physics in high school? Florida students are required to fail the FCAT test 3-times before they can use the ACT or SAT as an alternate assessment. A student in the 60's who took all vocational courses and under-water basket weaving, wouldn't have a chance of graduating from the present high school system.
So...are we a system of failing schools or a system of ever-increasing mandates and testing programs? Who writes, scores and prints the test booklets for the standardized state tests? They sure make great money doing it. Your children are being psychologically abused and no one is doing a thing about it. Third graders are being bribed and pressured by teachers and administrators everyday. When the weight of the school rests on such young shoulders, could you take that much pressure? The average school spends more time test and prepping, than they do instructing.
So...could you graduate from high school in 4 years if you were presently in the 6th grade?
