First off , if the actual inclassroom factors only account for less than 10 % of student test scores , it seems foolhardy to spend so much time on the favored testandpunish regime . Especially at the middle and high school level . I ' ve worked with youth and habits are set very early . There are 8 year old kids out there whose parents value education and promote good study habits . They make sure their kids attend school unless those kids are sick . They schedule vacations around the school year , not in the middle of it . They put kids in an extracurricular or two . The kids are in a comfortable living space with an appropriate bedtime and adequate nutrition . The kids go to school ready to learn . Then there are 8 year olds who struggle . They are frequently late or absent . They might be in a substandard living situation , have bad footwear , a jacket that isn ' t really warm and might go hungry on the weekends . They might have responsibilities far beyond their age and little supervision . Their parents might be unable to help with homework . They might be unfocused at school because primary needs aren ' t taken care of . The gap between those groups just grows as time goes on . Maybe at first grade the achievement gap isn ' t that bad . But how do you hold a high school teacher responsible for a kid not passing a standard when they came into 9 th grade several grade levels behind their peers in learning ? How do you expect a high school teacher to catch a kid up when they ' ve been lagging for a decade ?