Is Lowering Education Standards Becoming the "New Normal"?

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It's no secret that traditional public schools are having a hard time producing students who can speak proper grade-level English or solve basic grade-level math problems. There are a variety of solutions that parents and educational institutions can look to, but it seems that some school systems in New York have taken the turn-a-blind-eye approach. Instead of increasing the quality of education, why not just lower the accepted standard?

In an article found on The Burning Platform entitled "The New Normal": New York to Lower Math and English Proficiency Standards due to Poor Test Results, the author highlights a school board in New York that is decreasing standardized testing expectations in an attempt to solve the problem of the underwhelming math and reading scores from children in the school system. The article is authored by Jonathan Turley.

As a disclaimer, as with any source of information, always ensure that you do your research. There is often more that can be discovered involving deeper elements when you as the reader do your due diligence.

In the article, Jonathan explained that New York will be lowering their proficiency standards for math and reading after disappointing results in the state testing. The media reported:

“A scoring committee that reports to the Board of Regents said Monday that they must take into account the results of last year’s tests for students in grades three through eight. Some schools posted shocking results — in Schenectady, no eighth grader who took the math test scored as proficient. And the scores for the third through eighth grade tests throughout the state were much lower in 2022 than in 2019, a result no doubt of the absence of in-person learning during the first year and beyond of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In addition to this, some school systems are transitioning teachers to a 4-day work week to eliminate stress. Other boards are removing the 'F' grade to guarantee that every student passes.

The effect of these decisions are long-reaching with a lot of negative, but maybe some positive results as well.

The lack of value placed on children's education is emphasized incredibly in this situation. Instead of finding a solution where a child can go to school and be taught basic skills, the decision-makers decide that it is not important for the child to be given quality education. What they need instead is an easy ride. The problem with easy rides, is that they get you nowhere.

A child who graduates high school with a lack of literacy comprehension and math skills is going to have a rude awakening when they try to find a job in the workforce. Employers are expecting employees to be able to successfully communicate verbally and on paper (or computer).

Math skills are more important for the individual as it helps them ensure they are not being taken advantage of. Being able to check your paycheques, budget successfully, pay your bills, avoid money scams, even properly tip at restaurants, all come from basic math skills. What kind of adult is a school producing who cannot do simple multiplication and division equations?

What kind of adult is the public education system providing to society? One that is competent enough to understand the world and capable enough to chase their dreams? Or one who is destined for a low-paying job with no creativity and discipline to reach their own potential?

I'm not the only one who perpetually asks this question. Parents are seeing it too, and as the article says: "parents are increasingly voting with their feet."

Public school systems are hoping that the parents won't notice the problems that are becoming more and more obvious with the old, outdated processes they provide. They are hoping that parents will always feel unsure about taking their children out of public school, because after all, public school teachers are the professionals.

What the system doesn't want you as a parent to realize is that really, there is no one more invested in your child than you are. No other human is trying to create a quality, education-rich environment in which your child can grow and learn.

You are the one working for your family, using every resource at your disposal to provide for your family, paying taxes, and expecting that your hard-earned money will produce public quality education for your child. What do you do when that expectation fails?

The most radical idea? Take your children out of school and stop paying taxes. It's out of the box, I know, but that would catch the system's attention, wouldn't it? It would take a mass amount of people to do it, but sometimes change only comes when you do that radical thing.

If you can't do that, or, you know, you're waiting for the rest of the world to catch on, there are other ways. Mass change is difficult, and requires everyone to be on the same page. So, for the time being, while we are in this state in Western society, do what you can. The small things. The most important of which is to be involved. Talk to the teachers...although they can't do much in the way of state administered tests. So talk to the policymakers, the education ministers, the politicians that your taxes pay for. Loud enough protests will eventually get attention. It's happened in numerous other areas, so why can't it happen in this one too?

Source:

1. “The New Normal": New York to Lower Math and English Proficiency Standards due to Poor Test Result”, accessed April 16, 2023, https://www.theburningplatform.com/2023/03/19/the-new-normal-new-york-to-lower-math-and-english-proficiency-standards-due-to-poor-test-result

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