Columnist: Schools Doing Disservice To Students By Inflating Standardized Scores

In a PhillyBurbs.com (6/13) column, Hilary Bentman writes, "When referring to the percentages of children who are proficient in math, science and reading in the K-12 years, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said last year: 'As a country, we've dummied down standards. We've reduced them due to political pressure, and we've actually been lying to children and parents, telling them they are ready when they are not.'" Bentman continues to expand on Duncan's theme, arguing that districts in Pennsylvania as a matter of policy inflate students grades on such tests, and chides stakeholders from the Federal level down to individual parents for allowing this to continue, suggesting that all parties concerned are ignoring the painful truth that schools are failing to prepare student s for life.