Bob CollinsToday’s sign that the educational apocalypse is upon us comes from the Washington Post, which reports that kids in kindergarten now face final exams, have homework and are subject to standardized testing.
And in Elwood, N.Y., the Post says, the principal sent a letter to parents canceling the annual play so the kids can buckle down and work hard to be “college and career ready.”
The paper says Florida is starting the required testing of K’s — school officials say it’s an “assessment” — and tying teacher pay to how well the kids do.
Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder of the advocacy group Fund Education Now, said it would be outrageous to give kindergartners these new exams. “We support fair measures of accountability, but forcing 6-year-olds to take 7 potentially high stakes tests is unacceptable.”
When news of the final exams for kindergartners became public in Florida, one legislator, state Sen. David Simmons, told WFTV that the legislature didn’t mean for kindergartners to have to take end-of-course exams and that he would work with colleagues to resolve the problem.
