“Education is the engine that drives the American dream.” Every subject through education, though, is not created equal. In 2014, it was made law for every state to test students in math and reading. This puts less emphasis on other subjects like history, science, and fine arts. The article “The Essentials of a Good Education,” by Diane Ravitch, illustrates how teachers and administrators often push students to buy into this concept, because the students’ test scores are supposed to correlate to the teacher's’ teaching ability.
How are kids seeking careers in history, science, art, or technology supposed to pursue these fields if they are not given opportunities in their schools to learn and develop interest? The standardized testing, today, portrays the message that high test scores in reading and mathematics is what matters most in a student’s high school career. “The No Child Left Behind law and the Race to the Top program have undermined this ideal curriculum and restricted it to only the most affluent communities.” Educational historian and policy analyst, Diane Ravitch, wrote over twenty books and 500 articles on education and school reform. The target audience is parents of school children. “A democratic society cannot afford to limit the skills and knowledge of a liberal education only
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“Knowing how to read and knowing how numbers are used (and misused) to characterize almost everything are basic necessities for citizens.” These are the two subjects standardized testing emphasizes, and this work is acknowledging those are two very important skills for an average citizen. The work does, however, refute this statement by following it with, “Basic skills are necessary, but they are not enough to prepare the citizen.” The sentences following this are providing examples of other tools citizens need to have, such as, listening carefully, evaluating claims, and weighing