Bad Education

My kids are in 6th and 9th grade.  They both are average students and they both are two full grade levels ahead of what I was doing when I was in their grade. 

I live in New York State and you can't graduate from high school without a regent’s diploma.  Every year they take NYS assessment tests in math, reading, science and social studies which is actually a report card for the school.  They use this to see what schools need to improve and it helps the teachers see what they need to focus on.  They can also see what kids are not meeting the standards get them help. 

My concern is that the schools are teaching just to pass these tests because it makes the school look good.  I think that today’s kids are smarter than we were at their age and it's going to take time to see just how smart they really are.