GoBigEd

Posted 8:02 PM by Susan Darst Williams

NEBRASKA'S TEST-SCORE CREDIBILITY GAP
IS PAR FOR THE COURSE NATIONWIDE

Nebraska's statewide assessment program has drawn some fire for posting such all-around high scores that our kids look like thousands of geniuses -- but on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, they look like rumdums.

Comes now a flurry of national stories bemoaning the declining literacy and numeracy evidenced by the NAEP numbers. And more and more people are noticing the questionable integrity of a state education department that would tout such high numbers on an inhouse test in which Nebraska kids are compared to other Nebraska kids . . . while conveniently ignoring the fact that the vast majority of those same high-scoring Nebraska kids have been exposed as reading BELOW grade level on the national one. Not only that, but it's beyond crisis mode for children of color.

Nebraska's gap is fairly wide, compared to those in other states. The main thing is, it's going on everywhere. It's what we get for caving in to all those nasty learning "standards" several years ago, when the educrats pushed "outcome-based education" on us, from coast to coast. Remember, the standards were deceitfully boilerplated from state to state. Nebraska's are virtually identical to almost every other state's. Our people were duped into thinking they thought they up on their own. Yeah. Right.

Here's the latest dish:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DebraJSaunders/2007/03/08/higher_grades,_lower_scores

What to do?

Parents like us are already moving their kids to private schools and homeschools. We hate to do it, because we believe in the principle of public education. It's just that . . . we also believe in the principle that we are responsible to make our children's educations the best they can be. So it's a no-brainer, for those who are awake to what's going on.

It's evident that it will take around 10 or 12 years to turn things around in the public schools so that embarrassing credibility gaps like this don't exist. But it'll take a lot of work from inside and outside the system. So if your kids are still enrolled in public schools, either roll up your sleeves . . . or assume the position.