Reply #3: Wasting the lives of our young people for oil & empire...

[revcarol]

Not a dry eye in this household, either.

And testocracy...I lived in Texas when the TAAS Texas Assessment of Academic Skills was started, and prepared lessons for social studies teachers to use in teaching the skills that would be tested. Prepared them for up to eighth grade reading level for testing in the 11th grade for high school graduation.
Even eighth grade reading level was too high, they watered them down.Started urging non-English proficient students to drop out and get a GED (no state testing for GED.)Then troubled students were urged to drop out. Then borderline almost-special-ed students were urged to drop out.Then the tests were watered down again, and whole days and 6 whole weeks during the school year were exclusively for test-taking skills, and how to write a paragraph, and how to guess the answers to math problems.Then Bush came in, and standards were lowered again. People who failed the 11th grade "graduation" test were urged to drop out so test scores would be higher(even though they would have 2 more chances to pass), and schools would avoid "failing" grades,so they would get full funding.

AND THIS IS EDUCATION? And no one ever kept track of those who "dropped out!!"

I agree. We must fight this testocracy.