Wednesday, October 19, 2011 How is it possible that our
educational standards are so low? During Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia’s
Monday visit to Steamboat, we heard that 30 percent of children
finishing third grade in Colorado can’t read proficiently.
Granted, that is a problem at the state level. That is not,
however, our problem here in Steamboat, where our test results
show we are well ahead of the state standards for reading and
math. We have done a great job meeting the bar of proficiency;
kudos to our local teachers and administrators. Our problem is
accepting this standard as good enough. The world is turning
quickly now, and it seems the public school system in Colorado
is being left behind. We continue to look for ways to close gaps
between underachieving groups like English Language Learners
when we should be looking at the gap in skills between our
public schools and those in China, Korea, India or even the
private school next door. If we are accepting of merely
proficient in the basics as our standard of ex