Our report High-Achieving Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind continues to attract the press's attention. The Orlando Sentinel's Mike Thomas writes in his most recent column about the allocation of school resources more toward boosting the test scores of low-performing students rather than high-performing students. He writes:
I once was a soccer coach of a very bright group of third-grade girls. The evening after they took the FCAT [Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test] for the first time, I asked them: "So how was it?"They rolled their eyes. "Borrring!"
How much time had these smart kids spent prepping for a test that basically is designed to measure minimum standards? Is it relevant for them? Could that time be better spent on other pursuits?