Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing is all our students know, because testing is all we teach them. I hear all the time how wonderful the school system I currently teach in is perceived to be. Parents literally move their families to this county for the public school system. Our test scores and graduation rate are among the highest for public schools in the nation. In my decade in this school system I know one thing personally: my children will never attend one day of school in this public school system.
This school system has a very specific blueprint which all teachers in the county are held within. This blueprint is well planned and detailed to achieve a 100% graduation rate and the highest possible test scores. It is actually sad to see how much time and money has gone into this blueprint. This blueprint is a prime example of what happens when school systems care more about public perception than the students in their schools. The Blueprint: To achieve a 100% graduation rate we simply do not fail any student. We use a 10 point grading scale where a 60% is passing. Teachers cannot allow a student’s grade to be below a 50% for the first three quarters of the school year. So, when a student sits in class and turns in zero work for the first three quarters of the year, the teacher must move the student’s average from a 0% to a 50%. And when a student still manages to fail, it is the teacher who is questioned about how that is possible. Then the teacher is asked to pass the student anyway.
To achieve our extremely high test scores, teachers are to only teach to the test. We do not even focus on the information needed to successfully take the test. Our blueprint calls for us to train our students to look for key words in questions and answers. Students are taught to determine an answer, not actually have the knowledge and thinking skills to know the answer. It works. The school system does look great. However, our students are not ready for life after high school. Our students are left unprepared for college or the workforce. Our students do not learn to think for themselves.
Public School Truth 