Re: My kid didn't pass!! It's the state's fault!!
I'm an 8th grade science teacher at one of the highest scoring middle schools in the state of LA (Herndon Magnet School). It is a shame that people think that a test can be racist. I have sometimes, although rarely, been told by a parent that their child wasn't passing my class because I was a racist. After explaining how they received their grade and that their child took the same tests and had the same requirements as everyone else, they understood. I have also taught at a high school where probably at least 90% of the students I taught were "minority" students but all were required to have certain test scores to get into the program in which I taught. The vast majority of those students had parents which expected them to study, valued education, and wanted their children to be challenged. It was obvious why they had such high scores on standardized tests--they had prepared themselves! Many of them are now doctors, nurses, and one went to West Point and were so much fun to teach I looked forward to seeing them every single day (The program was medical prep) From my experience of 13 years as a teacher, I can probably count on 2 hands the children who have failed the LEAP test. Almost invariably but with some exceptions, the students who failed the LEAP rarely paid attention in class, failed to participate, and did not study for classroom tests. No type of instruction--hands on, individual help, peer tutoring by their friends, visual instruction, or otherwise seemed to help or motivate them to help themselves. They chose not to prepare for the next grade. I'm sure this is what you probably expected. There are some, however, that simply aren't mentally capable of passing the test but these are very few. It is a shame that these kids have to suffer and not go forward with their friends because of no fault of their own. As for the others, they needed to stay in their grade; they would have been unsuccessful in higher classes because they were unprepared. I believe we can trace 99% of our problems in schools and society back to parents who don't know how, don't have the time, or are unwilling to help prepare their kids by TEACHING them basic manners, respect for others, good work ethics, etc. Then when they fail to pass a test, get fired from their jobs, lose good friends, or simply choose the wrong friends, these folks wonder what went wrong or place blame on others, even placing blame on things like standardized tests. I am thankful that there are some good teachers that can pick up some of the slack and help children learn what they need to succeed. I'm amazed at the difference I see in children that are ill-prepared for just about anything after they are exposed to the positive influence of "good" kids and "good" teachers for just a year or two. However, the pressure placed on teachers by parents today to make sure their children have good grades regardless of what they learn is getting almost too much to bear. I often wonder what will happen to change this around--something's gotta give sooner or later. Thanks for the interesting article--I hadn't seen it---and letting me rant! JBJennings
