Education reform and leaving No Child Left Behind, behind
Blog by Sue Shellenbarger/Wall Street Journal
For children in all but the worst schools, the most noticeable effect of education reform has been a painful one: more standardized tests. As a parent, I was seldom able to keep track of testing days at my children’s schools and prepare my kids for them, with a reminder and extra rest. Such details usually got lost in the flurry of homework and other activities. But standardized tests have become increasingly important as a yardstick of schools’ performance, and watching kids take them isn’t pretty. Factors ranging from kids’ mood or physical state on testing day, to attitudes toward the teacher or even the weather, can affect how well students do on such tests. (more...)