CNS News, again:
Only 39 percent of the eighth graders in Wisconsin public schools are proficient or better in mathematics, according to the U.S. Department of Education, despite the fact that Wisconsin spends more per pupil in its public schools than any other state in the Midwest.
In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009—the latest year available—only 31 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned a “proficient” rating while another 8 percent earned an “advanced” rating. The other 61 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below “proficient,” including 40 percent who earned a rating of “basic” and 21 percent who earned a rating of “below basic.”
I blame an imperialist foreign policy and a sense of American exceptionalism that we must remind ourselves, in this postmodern world, is but a single data point emanating from a single, interested jingoistic cultural consciousness that we’d do well to diminish, mock, trivialize, and apologize for.
And also: Sarah Palin.
to riff on an old Dave Barry joke – 66%, nearly half, of all Wisconsin eighth graders are not proficient in math.
The more telling stat for me is this – and I came up with this all by my lonesome – is that Madison Metropolitan School District has four high schools.
Three of them failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress under the ESEA (originally NCLB) requirements. The reason for the high schools failing to achieve on the reading portion of the ESEA was reading scores.
http://www2.dpi.state.wi.us/sifi/WAYP_main.asp – put in 2009-2010 and select the “Schools that did not make AYP” option.
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So what? 97% have their Obama Youth badges and have pre-registered for social services. Problem?
If I could do one thing to help school children learn, it would be to re-introduce the strap, and the will to use it.
Let me hasten to add, I don’t believe it would need to be used but rarely, just the knowledge it could be, and will be in a consistent manner, would be enough to restore a healthy respect for the book learn’in.
The biggest problem would be with the parents of the little darlings that needed it the most, but I think an invite to remove their young angel from school so the parent could look after them at home would put a quick halt to that.
I know…VIOLENCE!!
I condemn and denounce myself.
You could use the strap on the parents, too.
Especially the cute young single ones.
Government schools are a crime on about ten levels.
The funny thing is that that’s considered an outrageous statement.
Classic.
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