MA> Combine this with educational insitutions competing among one
 MA> another for the best quality teachers and most innovative and
 MA> productive approaches to education in a free market and...hey...the
 MA> kids might actually find themselves learning something.   
DH> Interesting concept.
 
      I have seven kids and Texas, courtsey in large part to the
efforts of Ross Perot, has adopted some rather strange educational
policies.  One of them is statewide testing, supposedly to measure
teacher and school performance, on a test called TAAS.  This has now
become an educational objective.
      Initially students simply took a test and the results were
reported.  Over time, however, schools began to exclude various
students from the tests to "level" the results.  At first this applied
to those with learning disabilities, then those who spoke Spanish, and
now literally everyone the individual school thinks will not do well on
the test.   TAAS, growing in fluence annually because it is directly
tied to administrator pay, has evolved into a class all by itself with
special classes being held to teach students how to take the test
itself.   Parents are sent intimidating notices and study guides
encouraging parents to drill their children for the tests and now, TAAS
is actually being included in the students grades with the influence of
a final exam.
      Government operated education is a nightmare and this simply
illustrates what happens in a non-competitive enviroment where
incentives are directed at public administrators.  As of late much
attention has been given to the idea of having national testing
standards imposed upon states and children by the federal government.
I would suggest, before people are wooed into falling into this trap,
they need to take a long look at the flaws of such a program and what
has happened when such a program has been instituted on a wide scale.
      Do we really want to spend our precious educational resources
teaching our children how to take government tests? 
 
                                           /\/\ike
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