Dumb and Dumber: . . . ‘Good’ Schools

I TEACH in a Basic skills Improvement Plan at a lovely, well-maintained suburban elementary school. The students I work with have average or above-average intelligence according to CAT (California Achievement Tests), yet they arrive in a thirdgrade BSM class unable to read, write, speak correct English, or do basic with—addition and superaction, problems with carrying and borrowing.

Out o curiosity, I took a look at how their classrooms functional for first and second grades, then went into shock. I had assumed that what went on in a classroom was at least somewhat similar to what had gone on when I was in primary grade school.