Keeping in mind that this is written for grades 2 and 3, there's a few points of truth in the article: US kids are taking more standardized tests than ever (previously, how many tests you took had everything to do with your teacher), and this is, at least in part, an outcome of NCLB. Check out the quotes from Secretary Arne Duncan, however:
"Tests are needed to show kids' strengths and weaknesses," Duncan says. So, let's look at what one such assessment from the same third grade would have demonstrated earlier this week.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says tests are needed to show kids' strengths and weaknesses. That way, students can get the help they need. "I want kids to get the best education so that they can pursue their dreams," Duncan told TFK.
The assignment is "read the passage, answer the multiple choice questions." The passage is about the Old West, and one of the questions asks the student to decipher from context the phrase "she packed a pistol." The phrase in the passage reads exactly that, with no surrounding context, and indeed, no mention elsewhere of the pistol.
Rather logically, one student chooses "she put the pistol in a suitcase."
Now what, Secretary Duncan, does that tell us of this student? Is she weak on reading? No, actually, she's reading at the top of her grade. Does she need extra help? Well, perhaps some outside time spent watching westerns, but beyond that, no.
The fault lies in the question. It isn't possible to decipher meaning from context when no context is given. The basic assumption behind the question is actually that the average eight year old would have heard the phrase used elsewhere. This one had not. The question is a poor one, depending as it does on knowledge not taught in school; it also does not reveal any sort of skill purportedly being tested.
Is this, Secretary Duncan, any way to get to the "best education"?
I think not.
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