Martha MacCallum On School Systems Reducing Standards: “Soft bigotry of low expectations”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown privately signed a bill last month ending the requirement for high school students to prove proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic before graduation. The bill, which suspends the proficiency requirements for students for three years, has attracted controversy for at least temporarily suspending academic standards amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Backers argued the existing proficiency levels for math and reading presented an unfair challenge for students who do not test well.
Guy Benson & Martha MacCallum discussed the harm this bill will cause to students. MacCallum saying the following:
“I will take anybody in Oregon who is in favor of this to visit a number of charter schools and Catholic schools in New York City that are doing amazing work with inner city kids. And they will tell you that if they ever if they ever for a moment told those kids that it was OK not to meet the bar, not to succeed, not to get where you want to go in order to graduate, it just sends the absolute worst message”
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