Tim and Kerry Jones

North Carolina has gotten ridiculously obsessed with standardized
testing over the last two years. We've begun rewarding both schools and
teachers whose kids test above average on these tests. So, as you can
imagine, everything that kids learn here from K to 3rd is geared to help
them take the test. So . . . a friend of mine recently told me that her
son, who is in kindergarten, had been given an IQ test and behavior test
at school without her consent . Then, they called my friend in and told
her they believed her son might benefit from Ritalin. When she asked
what his exact problems in class were, the teacher explained that he
wasn't sitting still during group time and wasn't filling out his
worksheets completely. My friend asked whether this was really a
problem in KINDERGARTEN, and the teacher said yes, that if he didn't get
a grip on his "ADD" that he might not do well on his 3rd grade
standardized test. Things like that really make me want to scream!

Kerry in NC