Pew Research Center: Lake Wobegon, U.S.A.

Lake Wobegon, U.S.A.
Where All the Children Are Above Average - At Least by Their Schools' Ways of Counting
by Pauline Vu, Stateline.org Staff Writer
January 31, 2007

State of the States

When her son came home from middle school with a report card showing he'd passed North Carolina's year-end algebra test, Margaret Carnes believed he had the foundation he needed for high school. Then she met with his teacher, who cautioned her not to be too confident. By the state's yardstick, students had to answer correctly fewer than half the questions to pass. In some grades, they can flub two-thirds of the questions and still be marked "proficient."

It can be a harsh wake-up call for children and parents alike. Students are told they are where they're supposed to be academically, but a rude awakening awaits them in high school. "It compels one to ask the question, Have they been prepared?" said Carnes, now managing director for Charlotte Advocates for Education, a nonprofit group pushing for higher state standards.

It's a problem of long standing in U.S. public education. While international assessments confirm that American students lag behind those in several other countries in science and math, many school districts and states keep telling parents that their children, like those in Lake Wobegon, Garrison Keillor's hometown of fable, are all above average.

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