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Failing The Test
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, September 3, 2008.
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President Bush introduced No Child Left Behind in 2001. And since then the federal law has been controversial, to put it mildly. Its goal is to increase accountability and student proficiency in the classroom. And it does so by tying federal funding to how schools perform on standardized tests.
Critics say the so-called “teach to the test” system leaves students foundering. Test prep companies, like Kaplan and Princeton Review, however, have done remarkably well. Kaplan’s revenues went from $354 million in 2000 to more than $2 billion today.
Jeremy Miller is a high school science teacher in Denver. He worked on-and-off for Kaplan for nine years, most recently as an in-school “coach” for its SAT and Regents’ Advantage program and branded K12 lesson plans. He earned $295 a day, more than all but the most senior teachers, and he came away with some valuable lessons on American’s broken public school system. His article "Tyranny of the Test" is in the September issue of Harper’s Magazine.
Read Harper's interview with Jeremy Miller here.
(Photo by Dave Scelfo)
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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.
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