Homework is driving me crazy

First grade homework is getting more ridiculous every day. They are doing fractions and word problems in math. Today Mason came home with a work sheet that he has to answer after reading a story from the book.

1) How are words "high and low" and "here and there" alike?
a. They are antonyms
b. They are contractions
c. They are synonyms
d. They are compounds words.

Me: Mason did you talk about Antonyms or synonyms or contractions in class? Do you even know what they mean?
Mason: no mom.

We keep getting homework like this where he doesn't even know the definition of the words that they are using for the answers AND they don't even give them the definition anywhere in the story they are reading. He has to read books and take tests on the computer and he has to pass it before he moves on to another book. Homework was NOT like this when Spenser was in 1st grade. No WONDER so many kids are being "left behind" in our counties "No child left behind" approach to teaching. I get more and more frustrated and I am thinking if this is 1st grade homework, I HATE to see what 3rd and 4th grade will be like. Kindergartners are given a state writing test where they are given a subject and they have to write 2-3 sentences about the topic and draw a detailed picture to go with the story. He did awesome but it made me nauseous for the kindergartners who couldn't even read last year...how in the heck are they supposed to write detailed sentences?????