I hope parents are NOT breathing a sigh of relief if their children passed the NECAP assessment. I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news but the NECAP doesn’t give parents a clear picture of math or science proficiency.
The NECAP is an assessment of the NH science and math standards. Those standards were analyzed by several top mathematicians and scientists in the country and given an “F” grade. That translates to your child meeting “F” standards if they pass the NECAP.
Our current Education Secretary, Arne Duncan in an article from the Chicago Tribune had this to say:
"In too many places, including Illinois, we are lying to children now. [When] we tell a child they are meeting the state standards, the logical implication is that child’s on track to be successful. In too many places, including Illinois, if you are meeting state standards you are barely qualified to graduate from high school and you are totally unqualified to go to a university and graduate," he said.
Secretary Duncan is making one thing clear, states like NH who set state academic standards at such a low level, are lying to children. In a recent article in Time Magazine story, How to Raise the Standard in America’s Schools, a similar suggestion is made:
“The result is a K-12 education system in the U.S. that is burdened by an incoherent jumble of state and local curriculum standards, assessment tools, tests, texts and teaching materials. Even worse, many states have bumbled into a race to the bottom as they define their local standards downward in order to pretend to satisfy federal demands by showing that t heir students are proficient.”
The question remains, why is our current Democratic legislature and Democratic Dept. of Education ignoring this?
It’s the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge. The students who meet state standards, according to Secretary Duncan are being lied to.
What do the Democrats in charge of the New Hampshire’s government do with this kind of news? They submit legislation to legalize same sex marriage, allow for physician assisted suicide, submit a “bathroom bill” and seek to regulate the home schooling community– a community that continually shows excellent results.
The current leadership in the legislature has made it clear, radical legislation comes before the needs of our families and students. Governor Lynch’s Dept. of Education is not offering students the challenges they need to succeed in life. These are issues that need serious consideration from all voters these next couple of years. If they continue down the path of pushing an extreme agenda over the needs of the NH residents, maybe it’s time for new leadership!
