Shortchanging the poor…..still

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I can only give you a quick description of this story from April 7 in the Times:

There is a graph of the 4th and 8th grade students that are tested nationwide. That testing in on the Trump chopping block because of course, ignorance is bliss.

It shows that around 2013 especially for the poorest children there was a more dramatic fall in test scores than for better off children. The story below that you can’t read unless you subscribe to the NYTime here: The Pandemic Is Not the Only Reason U.S. Students Are Losing Ground suggests its because we backed of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind: Here are the words from the story:

“One possible explanation is the end of No Child Left Behind, the contentious school accountability law President George W. Bush signed in 2002.

The law is perhaps best known for its legacy of standardized testing, including annual exams in math and reading in third through eighth grade.

But it also put a sharp focus on low performers, part of Mr. Bush’s campaign against what he called “the soft bigotry of low expectations” in public schools. The law set a goal of having all students reach proficiency. Schools were required to break out testing data by race, income and special education status, and schools that did not show progress could face penalties.

It corresponded with a period of rapid improvement in test scores, particularly in math. Reading scores also improved, though more modestly.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/us/low-performing-students-reasons.html

Today, as with Trade and Tariffs, Social Security, Weather forecasting, FEMA and the host of other subjects our ignorant and childish President is so clueless about he is shattering them like the china shop bull he is.

About the author

Harry is a ferociously good natured eccentric in Duluth Minnesota who detests traitors dressed up as Uncle Sam. You can find somewhat better edited writings of his at the Duluth Reader "contributors." page. The URL is:
https://duluthreader.com/contributors/h/84/284-harry-welty