Relaxed standards betray public trust

Your editorial "Are standardized tests doing the job" (Oct. 12) raised a serious question. We know, for instance, from its public pronouncements that the ISBE has dumbed down the tests and normed up the results. Each is unforgivable. In combination they betray a public trust. Recognizable standards are important. Combined with school administrators opting out of the No Child Left behind program, they misdirect the parents and place the student at risk.

Protecting the district, its administrators and the teachers from reality is not a valid objective for a standards-making body. Worse, the practices deliver under-performing students up the grade ladder, increasing the time spent in (and additional costs of) remedial instruction and thus decreasing the classroom time available for new learning. Sending these young adults into the real world economy hampers the country's ability to compete.

Pete Speer

Mount Prospect