I am not a fan of No Child Left Behind.
I have several friends who are teachers, and even the cradle Republicans did not vote for Dubya in the last election because of it.
It has seemed that for the last 4 years, my oldest is getting tested about every three weeks. At first, she didn't mind, but now it's old.
I got a letter from the "Gifted" teacher at her new middle school. The Big One is not in the "gifted" program in our public schools, because she missed the entrance requirements by one point, but she scores in the highest percentile on all her standardized tests. And have I mentioned that she and her friend Amber were the only two in her sixth grade class that made straight A's since kindergarten?
Yeah, I figured I had.
Now I'm not saying my girl isn't smart, but I really don't believe that standardized tests measure intelligence, creative thinking or even common sense. When I get frustrated at my kids because they ask me obvious things like "Mom, where do we keep the silverware?" (duh, in the silverware drawer) I think to myself, "These are the dumbest smart people in the world."
Anyway, she came home with this letter, saying she was qualified to take the ACT or SAT through Duke University's Talent Identification Program.
The ACT or SAT.
In the seventh grade.
What on earth for?
I checked out the website and it pretty much seemed to me that if your kid takes this test it will qualify for many exciting summer programs and camps sponsored by Duke University.
Starting at $1,800.00.
No mention of any scholarships.
So I talked to the "gifted" teacher and she highly recommended it, it's a wonderful opportunity, etc. The Big One wants to do it, so I gave her the OK.
I'm going to make The Ex pay the test fee.
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