adjusted knowledge ... I agree with you. In the criminal justice system, they still technically got sentenced to 20 years. If they flub up during probation, they have to go back to prison and serve the remaining 20. It might be a small difference to point out, but it is quite glaring when you compare it to sentences that murderers and child molesters get.
As for standardized testing, I have become bitter about the whole thing. I am a teacher. When I started teaching many, many years ago, all of this testing was not the sole focus of school, and now it is. I am about to start administering the state test to my students. 3 weeks of testing everyday. Several hours each day. They are 10 years old. They are not taking the bar exam to become a lawyer. I feel like I am committing child abuse! And this does not include the HOURS of practice testing that district forces us to do. I use to do so much more teaching. Now all I do is test.
To make it even more frustrating, I work in a high-poverty, high immigrant school. I just had one of my Somali students go back to visit Africa for three works, and I just had two new students move in just a few weeks before the state test is to be given. One of them if from Kenya and has only been learning English for a few years. The other is an American, but she is so low academically. I emailed her old teacher to get the scoop on her, and she said that she has been in many, many schools during her short education, she has attendance issues, the parents will not help, and she will never do any homework at home.
This happens all the time, everyday. And when the scores come back, all of these children, including the ones that just moved in the week before testing, will be tied to my name, and my ability to teach will be judged by them.
Sorry for the long rant! I am VERY frustrated with the direction that public education has taken since NCLB was signed into law. With that being said, I will never give up my integrity and cheat. And anybody that does should be jobless!