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<p>Wow, this is highly disturbing to me, and demoralizing in no small measure. Part of the problem, it seems, lies in the fact that testing has become highly political. The dumbing down of standardized tests in order to show that children representing certain demographics are “making significant progress” does absolutely nothing to address the real educational needs of such students. Indeed, “the pig” is getting skinnier, but because the scale is being purposefully miscalibrated to show net weight increases, the weighers are patting themselves on the back. Disgusting. It’s politically inexpedient to to point out how some students begin school at a decided disadvantage due to environmental intellectual drought, lack of proper diet and sociological stressors. Best not to acknowledge those factors because addressing them would require measures beyond the ease of moving testing success parameters.</p>