If you choose “Case Study 3: American Education,” you might write about one of these topics: National versus state and local control of public education

 American Education The public schools in the area where you live have been low-performing for a long time. A new superintendent came in 2 years ago and promised to make some big changes. The local newspaper just published a series of articles about how much the standardized test scores have improved in your district. Your district has moved from a state rating of “D” to a state rating of “B” in only 2 years. You know that the state rating will increase property values in your neighborhood, and the rating might help your child get into college—if the reputation of her school improves. Your daughter and her friends have been telling you and other parents, however, that they were given the correct answers for the standardized tests by some of their teachers and they saw some of the school staff checking answers on the test papers before they were submitted to the state. You are very concerned that widespread cheating has occurred at your child’s school. You aren’t sure whether to ignore the situation altogether; to trust your child and take action; to assume your child is wrong and take no action; to call it to the attention of the new superintendent (who might or might not be involved); or to call it to the attention of the newspaper or State Department of Education. What do you do?