patrick.net

HousingWatcher says

I'm not debtating that. But when someone is paying $40,000 a year for a degree, they shoudl know BASIC history.

Is that asking too much?

Weren't they supposed to get that stuff up before they got to college? You can always find some chucklehead who got passed right through on either public or private primary education who didn't know history. So what? On the flip side of that you have parents who want to turn all schools into vocational schools or apprenticeships with no "fluff" like history or art. Can't please everyone.

Anyone paying $40,000 a year for college and who doesn't know basic history is wasting their money. They should spend a couple years in a community college, and then take another look at whether they want to invest in a private college or University. IF they do, at least then they would only be paying for a couple years.

marcus says

This is totally made up bs.The leadership of my union, one of the biggest in the country is paid the same as teachers (or maybe slightly higher because of less time off).

Well you are either blind or simply the bribe of tenure is good enough for you to keep your eyes closed on all the greed, corruption and abuses of the public system.

Speaking of "standards" and testing:

Tennessee had the lowest standards in 2009 for fourth grade reading, while Massachusetts had the highest. In eighth grade reading, Missouri had the highest standards, though its proficiency rating was well below NAEP's, while Texas set the lowest bar for proficiency.

Tennessee also had the lowest standards on both 2009's fourth and eighth grade math exams, while Massachusetts led the pack with standards above NAEP's standard for "proficient."

Buckley noted that higher standards did not trend with increased performance.

"There's just no clear relationship between the rigor of the standards and the outcome," he said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/10/standardized-tests-standards-vary-widely_n_922908.html