Punishing a child for reading more advanced books?
Under common core, schools are tasked with equal outcomes for all in order to close the achievement gap and/or close the excellence gap. School evaluations, ratings, and rankings are increasingly based upon equal outcomes for all. Teacher evaluations and compensation are increasingly based on uniform outcomes as well. This means that students in a demographic which as a whole may tend to perform well may now have their growth capped, in order to achieve statistically uniform outcomes. Quotas may be enforced. In some schools, this may create intense competition within a demographic for the opportunity for a particular student to not be capped but rather to learn at one's preferred level and pacing.
The process is data-driven through extensive measurement, testing, and assessment. Unfortunately the process may tend to treat students as statistical demographic labels/stereotypes rather than as individuals. Therefore some may say it is dehumanizing. Others may view the requirement for equal outcomes as fair and/or equitable.
The "just right" reading levels may not be "just right" for the individual student. However they may be "just right" for the goals of the teacher/school evaluation process, which may be based on closing the achievement/excellence gap and creating statistically equal outcomes for each demographic group.
