Teaching to the Test

Preparation for the world beyond is the goal of all public education. So why is it that these same institutions are discouraging free thought. I know what you're thinking...PFA, how could this happen, how could the educational system be broken? In two simple words the answer is standardized testing.
These tests encourage the youth of our nation to regurgitate useless facts instead of fabricating new ideas. Youth are encouraged to memorize but not to think. And this brings me to The No Child Left Behind Act. While this bit of government legislation did not start this trend it certainly did reinforce it. The incentive the act uses to make sure that these institutions excel at these tests is further disturbing. Public schools that do not meet these requirements lose their federal funding which raises the question, who in their right mind would think it a good idea to cut federal funding to a school that is already floundering. It makes sense to me, lets take away much needed supplies from a school that is already performing horribly. Is it not enough that the low test scores are more than likely caused by the fact that tests are modern and the text books are from the seventies. And thus begins a vicious cycle. Students cannot pass a test because schools cannot afford new text books, and schools cannot afford new text books because they cannot pass a test.

PFA