Leaders criticize ‘one-size-fits-all’ testing
with Totally Local Yellow Pages
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Pekin School District 303 leaders made their frustration over the standards set by No Child Left Behind evident Monday as the superintendent presented the school’s ’09-’10 report card and announced the district again failed to meet the standard for academic progress, which she said is not consistent with the community’s identity.
Pekin Community High School — along with 83 of the 95 statewide high schools of similar size — failed to meet the standard of Academic Yearly Progress, which is based on how many students do well on a statewide efficiency test called the Prairie State Achievement Examination. The test is given to all second-semester juniors.
The problem, according to Superintendent Paula Davis, is that the test assumes all students intend to go to college, which many in Pekin do not intend to do, opting instead to pursue careers in more blue-collar trades and taking classes to prepare them for that path.
“My point is the system — which is one-size-fits-all — doesn’t fit,” Davis said. “We know you’re not going to outsource
