Arne Duncan "teachers in America often come from the bottom of the academic barrel"

[pnwmom]

178. We left the public schools when we'd had enough with the superintendent.

He had vaulted our school district to the top of national rankings simply by requiring that every student take an AP test to graduate. When that wasn't enough to set us apart, he proposed that every student take FIVE AP tests to graduate. (They didn't have to take a class or even pass the test -- just take it. Which was a significant waste of money for thousands of kids.) Fortunately, the parents rose up on masse to prevent that, but I could see the writing on the wall.

Our oldest had taken 7 or 8 because she wanted to -- but we never pushed our other kids to take them. The idea that you need 5 college level classes to graduate from high school is ludicrous.

Shortly after we put our youngest in private school, the superintendent left -- for a high paying job with the College Board: the maker of the AP tests. What a scam.

I continue to support the public schools, vote yes on the levies, and even volunteer for the levies. But I hate the direction our district has gone in the last ten or fifteen years and I finally gave up fighting with them.