America’s Poor Report Card

Ahhh, the fond memories of standardized testing. My fourth grade self would get up early, take a shower, eat and egg and off I went to get a mediocre score. Standardized testing is as American as baseball and is dying just the same. 

Reading scores have had a significant decline in half the states. Our education system is suffering. The lack of traditional reading is making our population ignorant and close minded. 

Authors Erica L. Green and Dana Goldstein write in their article that there has been no progress and only decline is testing scores between 4th and 8th grade students. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos agrees that this is a problem, but feels that we shouldn’t throw money at the problem–a stark contrast from Warren and Sanders’ ideas. 

What DeVos fails to consider, and what the authors point out, is communities aren’t all alike. Poor communities and students of color are often doing worse. Although there are some small deviations, the overarching consensus is depressing. 

The communities that oppressed people are forced into are not conducive to learning. Whether their families cannot afford to invest in books or they are surrounded by violence–the suffering shows in these standardized tests. We need to invest in these communities to help foster learning and especially reading. 

Also, not all students are alike and some struggle with standardized testing. This is not a new phenomena, but it still struggles to be addressed. 

We need to invest money in researching how we can help oppressed communities and look at other learning types. If we want a better America, we need to help our youngest generation. There should be no limit to education; it is the most invaluable part of our lives and shapes what kind of citizens we become. 

DeVos’ view is grossly incorrect and bias towards the elite.