And the ongoing assault on public education will continue.

[liberal_at_heart]

22. money in, money out

If they put money into science and technology they are going to want results, profit. That means they are going to be pushing as many kids to go into these fields as possible even if they are not good at them. These colleges and businesses they are going to be partnering with are going to want large numbers of kids coming to them so they can make a profit. If they don't see the number of kids majoring in math and science they want they will push kids into it. It already happens with advanced classes and more and more with regular classes. Schools want to look good so they can get federal money. The way they look good is by giving the statistics the government is looking for. One way schools do this is by pushing kids into advanced classes who aren't ready for them. Another way is by pushing special education students like mine into regular classes before they are ready. I am a parent of a senior in high school who has taken advanced classes and a parent of a special needs child in middle school. I know these pressures. I live them everyday. I see your point and it would be a valid point if federal money were not tied to school performance. Hell, even standardized tests are not bad in and of themselves. They do provide good data to see where kids need help. The problem becomes that schools are under tremendous pressure to make these kids improve or lose funding. I'm not against apprenticeships, but tying federal funding directly to how many kids major in math and science is a disaster waiting to happen.