Why do I have to take all these tests!?!

By ThreeSixty staff

Editor’s note: In America, by law everyone is entitled to a public education. People today also believe that every child should receive the same quality of education.

The problem is, they’re not.

Across the nation, and in Minnesota, there is an “achievement gap” between white and minority students. Students take the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment test, or MCA, so students’ educational progress can be monitored.

In the 2007-2008 school year, the percentage of black students who tested at a “proficient” level on math and reading tests was about 36 percentage points below white students, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

That is a big difference, and one that people think means black students, and other minority students, aren’t getting an equal education. It’s a civil rights issue.

Trying to close this gap isn’t new, but in 2001, Congress passed new legislation to target the achievement gap, which was called the “No Child Left Behind Act.”

This new law required that all students’ progress be monitored and set expectations that schools would improve student test scores on tests like the MCA. If schools fail to meet expectations, there are consequences.

Like at Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis, which was “fresh-started” this year. All of its teachers were fired and had to reapply for jobs. The reasoning behind this kind of action is that there must be something wrong with the school, and not the students, that is causing students to receive unequal levels of education. A “fresh start” is meant to allow schools to start over, in a way, and try new things with new teachers to see if that improves things.

But the No Child Left Behind Act and things like the “fresh-start” at Edison are controversial. The truth is, no one knows how to solve the nation’s achievement gap, and this law is the latest attempt to figure it out.