Will changing incentives in NCLB work?
Short and targeted writing is good. The Christian Science Monitor editorial meets that criteria. I learned a lot: What's wrong with the law as is; what's right; that only 34-39% of students have reached proficiency (on state standards) and it's almost 2014, and how we might fix the law.
Here it is. Your thoughs?
(Obama changes incentives in NCLB)
Here it is. Your thoughs?
(Obama changes incentives in NCLB)
posted by Miriam Kurtzig Freedman, M.A., J.D. at
7:20 AM
1 Comments:
Clearly, it was only a matter of time before a change in the end game had to be made. The fact is, at least here in Massachusetts, where standards are arguably high and the state test is challenging, more and more schools each year are failing to reach their AYP targets. The prospect of nearing 2014 with almost all schools in the state failing to meet their targets would appear to suggest that the state's ed reform efforts have been a monumental failure. Of course, the conspiracy theorist's view would be that, at the federal level, that's exactly what was envisioned. Put ed reform into place on paper, grossly underfund it, set a rediculous, utopian target, and then in 2014, point out to the public how 100% of public schools failed to make the grade... thereby brining us to charter schools. And herein lies the rub with Duncan's plan. We know that there is an inherent selection bias at work in charter school enrollment. Those families most unable or unwilling to invest in their children's education don't apply, don't enroll. And, among those who do, those that don't succeed, including large numbers of students with disabilities and conduct problems, find their way back to the public schools. So, public schools are left with the most difficult to teach students while their resources are cut even more, see their scores fall even more greatly, and see their reputations continue to slide in the public eye. This could be the beginning of a viscious cycle that portends the death of public schools as we know them (most of which, by the way, are still pretty darn good).
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