I agree with you that there are a few culprits at work. As a teacher, I despise the textbook/test-making publishing companies. I loathe the fact that everything is watered down. Even my lower performing students could perform at much higher levels if the bar was set higher. With my gifted students, I just have to completely throw the book out the window. Yes, I agree that the curriculum has been watered down to a ridiculous level. This is a battle I fight tooth-and-nail everyday.
I also think that some of these remedial classes are a scam. It all boils down to profits. It even happened to me during my undergraduate days. I was triple majoring in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and English. It was my last year of college and I had completed my English requirements. I was taking 21-24 credit semesters and received honors from the English Department. The Education majors were required to do a writing sample. If you did not meet the requirements, you had to taking a writing course. Over half of the education majors failed, myself included. I could find nothing wrong with my paper. I scheduled a meeting to discuss the results. I brought the Dean of the English Department with me and the Dean of Education's face turned white. Long story short, she backpedaled so quickly she was about to break the sound barrier.
