h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You mentioned how in Britain they have "O" achievement tests.
In the US this has been done more on a state level rather than
a federal level. In Michigan there are MEAP tests. and many people are saying that students are not getting a balanced education because
too much of what they learn is geared to what questions they expect to be on the tests. And those with the best scores get a
recognitiobn on their high school diploma unless the parents
or students request it not be there. Also State money for local school districts is tied to MEAP scores. So what Bush is doing isn't new it's just federalizing what some states are already doing.
One wonders how Bush himself would fare on such tests after using such grammer as "Never over my dead body will they raise taxes!"
isn't that a form of double negative

That really is the whole problem with putting more emphasis on testing - people are educated to pass exams, not to become well-informed, well-balanced citizens.

'Never over my dead body will they raise taxes'... well, that seems to suggest that while Bush is alive, they might raise taxes, but after he's dead they never will again! Not the wisest message to send out, I'd have thought!