Several semesters ago we discussed the hot topic of "national standards". Despite many of the arguments against nationalizing the curriculum, there should be some sort of standard, that is strictly enforced, about how high schools report information to the public, such as drop-out rates, SAT scores, graduation rates, etc... I don't think the public, in general, really understands how this information can be manipulated and glossed over.

Karen, I agree that there needs to be a standard that is national and examined closely when reporting. What I would also like to see, is when establishing the standards, it needs to be taken into consideration the make up of the school and the students. There is a charter school in Charlotte that is one EOG testing peroid of losing their charter... The majority of students enrolled have some form of minor learning disability, deliquent parents with grandparents raising them, or parents whose values are not centered around education. A fellow educator at my school used to work there... the teachers and administration did everything possible to assist the children. When EOG results came out, they didn't meet the expected growth. This year they are on probation. How can a school with students who don't start the school year at standard level and don't work at standard levels be expected to pass standardarized tests? The test just don't take into consideration the population of students who will probably never be able to pass the standard test, therefore, the reporting of results will always be skewed depened on student population.