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All true, but it was Reagan who formalized it into law—literally. Until then, it was mostly implemented at the school board level as the salespeople convinced them education wasn't about teaching people to think but preparing them for careers. They used the "businesses aren't getting capable workers" line, and since most school boards at that time comprised local business owners, it worked perfectly.

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It hardly mattered to me. I was subjected to a brain-dead series of inane readings with questions put out by IBM long before Reagan came to office. I’d say the damage was done by the 1970s.

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As were we all, but back then the federal and state funding for our schools weren't totally dependent not only on the results of those tests but that they improve by a designated amount every year. That's the difference that set in post-Education Reform™.

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