Outrage #1

[sfindep]

Apparently a huge population of immigrant Somali children in Springfield, Massachusetts were distributed to 18 public schools last year and 23 public schools this year. The only translator goes from school to school ON A BUS PASS to work. So why not put them at the same school? Because the city fears it would lower the state MCAS (mandatory

Comments

[margarks]

woah I meant to comment on this a few days ago but didn't. ::scratches head::

I find this disgusting, yet, sadly so indicative of our society. Whether the MCAS should be changed or not, I don't know. But when children are treated unfairly because they want adults to feel good? I think its time for a new damn society.

I just feel as if I'm being woefully inarticulate about how this makes me feel.

Jesus. I mean, can't they even get the damn translator a district owned car? I bet half the freakin' principals drive one!

I just . . . there are so many things wrong with this that I can't sit and pinpoint each one.

This is the epitomy of selfish, bureacratic, ass-hats and a great foundation for why society is going to pot.

People think gay marriage is going to ruin the world? This is a hell of a lot more damaging than gay marriage could ever be.

I'm totally incoherent.

Maybe that's why I didn't post earlier.

::sigh::

[adina_atl]

The simplest way to fix the standardized tests is to reward teachers/primcipals/schools on the delta of the children's scores, the difference between their score at the end of last year and their score at the end of this year. If a student goes from a second-grade reading level to s fifth-grade level, the teacher should be praised and rewarded, right? But if the student should be at a seventh-grade level, the teacher will still be punished. Meanwhile, if another student ends at an eight-grade level, the teacher will be rewarded, even if the student started the year at that level and did nothing all year.

If schools were rewarded for the delta, it would give them the greatest incentive to improve the most marginal students, since those are the ones with the greatest room for improvement. Instead they have the incentive to get them out of the test pool any way they can, including shuffling them into "vocational" or special education classes.