# Exempting mandatory testing from students receiving vouchers **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 9, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268 "2014-03-09T14:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268/21 "2014-03-10T20:02:39Z")
> [@ITR Champion](#): > > If that’s you’re attitude towards the market, do you also take the same attitude towards public schools? They have lots of stupid people in them, so we should stop spending money on them? > [@monstro](#): > > I fully endorse defunding a public school that advocates teaching the sun revolves a 6,000-year-old earth. > > I fully endorse firing public school teachers who teach this garbage. > > Thus–since I’m a somewhat consistent person–I am also against supporting private schools that teach said nonsense with public monies. And if they are dumb enough to argue that their curriculum is beyond reproach because MARKET, then I’m all for revoking their licenses. You didn’t answer my question. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268/22 "2014-03-10T20:10:05Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > You didn’t answer my question. She absolutely answered it, as long as it was a relevant question–that is, as long as the “them” in your post applied to “stupid people” in order to make your question relevant. **monstro** , as far as I can tell, was specifically objecting to spending public money on bad private schools, not all private schools. The only way she didn’t answer your question is if you were asking if she supported defunding all public schools because of some bad apples, in which case you were asking her an irrelevant question. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268/23 "2014-03-10T21:06:26Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > private schools are held accountable through the market. Can you describe the appropriate level of reading and math skills that a child exiting 3rd grade should be able to demonstrate? If you can’t, then how are you supposed to know the quality of education that your child is receiving? I can do 3rd grade math, but I don’t know the difference between 2nd grade math and 3rd grade math, and I haven’t a clue how I would personally determine whether or not my child was ahead or behind without a professional teacher helping me, or without a standard test of some kind to show what he has and hasn’t learned. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268/24 "2014-03-10T21:19:26Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > She absolutely answered it, as long as it was a relevant question–that is, as long as the “them” in your post applied to “stupid people” in order to make your question relevant. > > **monstro** , as far as I can tell, was specifically objecting to spending public money on bad private schools, not all private schools. > > The only way she didn’t answer your question is if you were asking if she supported defunding all public schools because of some bad apples, in which case you were asking her an irrelevant question. This thread started with the question of whether private schools receiving vouchers should be held to the same standards in testing as public schools. Several people pointed out that the market holds private schools accountable. **monstro** replied only with something about the market being full of stupid people and implied this meant that schools not accepting standardized testing shouldn’t take voucher students. So I’m trying to tell if public schools should that have lots of stupid people should also be cut off from public money. Thus far, all we’ve got is “I fully endorse defunding a public school that advocates teaching the sun revolves a 6,000-year-old earth”, no general answer to the question. Thankfully **monstro** doesn’t run the education system in this country, so it’s not terribly important. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268/25 "2014-03-11T03:36:17Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > No. The analogy you used was inapt. The way parents vote with their dollars is by choosing one school over another. The ones that don’t get chosen, go out of business. > > As far as deciding where your money is going, it is still going to educate children. That doesn’t change. What you’re saying is not what’s happening. Parents are not voting with _their_ dollars. They’re voting with tax payer funded money so tax payers have a say in how they spend their vouchers. If they don’t want to accept those conditions, they don’t have to accept the vouchers. And if all educations are the same, what’s the point of vouchers? Obviously some schools are better than others. And the ones that accept government money - including vouchers - should be subject to government standards. Again, if they don’t want to accept those conditions, they don’t have to accept the vouchers. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268/26 "2014-03-11T03:41:44Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > This thread started with the question of whether private schools receiving vouchers should be held to the same standards in testing as public schools. Several people pointed out that the market holds private schools accountable. **monstro** replied only with something about the market being full of stupid people and implied this meant that schools not accepting standardized testing shouldn’t take voucher students. So I’m trying to tell if public schools should that have lots of stupid people should also be cut off from public money. Thus far, all we’ve got is “I fully endorse defunding a public school that advocates teaching the sun revolves a 6,000-year-old earth”, no general answer to the question. The market should be allowed to hold schools accountable only if the schools is getting all its money from the market. Once a school accepts government money - including vouchers - it should be subject to government standards. Schools that fail to meet minimal standards should be cut off from public money. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempting-mandatory-testing-from-students-receiving-vouchers/683268.md?page=1)