Re:School has given straight-A grades to the student, who ca...
by upboundspiral on Monday November 02, 2026 @04:56PM
(#50344409)
I think the problem is much deeper, but the Republicans didn't help with No Child Left Behind.
I think as economic circumstances changed (post 1970s era deregulation, post 1990s offshoring, etc), the oligarchy waged a war on the American working class, and just as industrial research was offloaded to universities (except for the big 3 of pharma, cars, some tech), companies also offloaded learning and credentials to the school system.
So the solution became "go to college to stand out", but that means getting good grades, so grades matter even more.
Recognizing this, the Republicans passed "No Child Left Behind". They elected to not improve teacher pay, not restructure the system, just lower standards that were already under pressure to be lowered to the least common denominator.
There was a recent congressional hearing, and one of the speakers was saying that post Covid / post internet students were struggling more than ever, and in response the SAT was redrafted to be easier to solve with people with low attention spans and low critical reasoning skills.
School districts are in on it too. Teachers try their best, but the district wants federal and state funding, and the easiest way is to make school easy, pass all the kids with a pulse, ensure their attendance is good, etc etc. And most principals enforce this policy, pressuring teachers to relax their grades.
I think as economic circumstances changed (post 1970s era deregulation, post 1990s offshoring, etc), the oligarchy waged a war on the American working class, and just as industrial research was offloaded to universities (except for the big 3 of pharma, cars, some tech), companies also offloaded learning and credentials to the school system.
So the solution became "go to college to stand out", but that means getting good grades, so grades matter even more.
Recognizing this, the Republicans passed "No Child Left Behind". They elected to not improve teacher pay, not restructure the system, just lower standards that were already under pressure to be lowered to the least common denominator.
There was a recent congressional hearing, and one of the speakers was saying that post Covid / post internet students were struggling more than ever, and in response the SAT was redrafted to be easier to solve with people with low attention spans and low critical reasoning skills.
School districts are in on it too. Teachers try their best, but the district wants federal and state funding, and the easiest way is to make school easy, pass all the kids with a pulse, ensure their attendance is good, etc etc. And most principals enforce this policy, pressuring teachers to relax their grades.