Sometimes I wonder what goes on in the brains of the people who run our local high school. I would be making a stink about what went on this week but Day has asked me not to do so. Since the problem really is more her problem than mine, I am honoring her wishes. But I feel as though I am back here being restrained while I yell, "Just let me at 'em."

As one of her extracurricular activities, Day is in the cast of a children's production called "The Golden Goose." Before she auditioned back in September, the students were told that there would be several performances. Three of those performances were to involve missing at least a little time from school because they were to be in the local elementary schools. On the audition slips themselves, they were asked to indicate the level of classes they took. (Our high school is heavily tracked with the top tracks being "honors" and "accelerated.") Parents signed off on the audition slips.

And then, a few days ago, well into rehearsals and only two weeks before performance, those in charge changed their minds. The elementary school performances could not go on because of state testing. You might wonder if the state tests have any meaning to the students. They do not. While the testing is part of No Child Left Behind, they are not required tests to graduate and the scores do not go to colleges. The tests, in fact, however important they are to the school, are of no direct benefit at all to the students.

So, of course, assuming that school administrators have the children's interests at heart while trying to balance their own, you would assume that the performances conflict with state testing. They do not. The purported reason for cancellation is that they would conflict with preparation for the test. But there are two problems with this reasoning. First, the sophomores who are in the cast (and only sophomores take the test) are all kids in honors and accelerated classes. These students will do well (absent incentive to do otherwise such as anger or anxiety based upon feeling pressured) no matter what. Second, their classes are not preparing for the tests. The only class Day has that is a totally sophomore class happens to be her Speech class. I've seen the syllabus. There is not even one class period devoted to test preparation.

Apparently, this decision is part of "taking these tests seriously." It is a decision that is supposed to look like "something is being done." And those types of decisions often are the worst of all.

And so, if there is a Golden Goose, the egg it has laid is far from golden�and the administrators involved should realize it.

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