Truth In Cartoons



I don't usually watch The Simpsons, but I put it on Sunday night to keep me company.  I started paying attention when I heard the topic--standardized testing.  There was a budget crisis in the town and one school had to be closed.  The kids in every school were given standardized tests and the school with the lowest scores would get the axe.  The kids in the Simpson school were totally uninterested in the exam.  Some played connect the dots with the choices, others spelled out words.  Erasers broke, pencils lost their points and kids passed out and were swept away.  The school ended up having the lowest scores and was scheduled to be closed.  The kids were randomly going to be sent to other schools in the area, separated from friends and siblings and not geared towards their needs.  Teachers were going to be fired.

Lisa Simpson found out her brother Bart skipped the test.  His makeup would bring the school's average up and save the school so he took a make up.  Let's just say some shenanigans were pulled and the school was saved.  The wrecking ball was sent to destroy another school and ended up hitting a community college instead.

This little cartoon show really nailed the farce of standardized testing.  It should be mandatory viewing for politicians and education deformers.