Does my kid know what they need to know?

On Saturday, Closen told a brief story explaining parent-teacher conference where he was the parent. He kept asking "does my kid know what they need to know to succeed in college?" Of course the teacher's answer was always the same "This is a great kid, blah, blah, blah." I know that most parents want to see that shining letter "A" on their child's report card to give them piece of mind. However, we (parents and teachers) are doing an inservice to students if we are not challenging them with standards that focus on each particular subject matter. If all high school classes were treated as AP classes where they begin with the assessment in mind (which adheres to college level standards), then classes could be better organized. However, without parent understanding of the "vision", teachers would find themselves being constantly nagged by the ever-popular helicopter parent. And it seems like those parents are multiplying by the hour.