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April 19, 2006
NCLB loophole goes both waysThe Associated Press story that says schools and states use a "loophole" in NCLB to escape accountability for racial groups illustrates why the law needs to be changed to include all students in the system. That's where growth models can fill the accountability gap AYP left behind.
Unfortunately, the AP article neglected to examine the other side of the story--too many minority students are being counted multiple times in urban school districts. A minority student could count as many as four times under NCLB's accountability system. See this NSBA report and this item on a report from the Center on Education Policy.
Urban schools have voiced concerns for years over their state's decision to increase the minimum number of students a subgroup must have before it can be counted in AYP. The result: Many more students in rural and some suburban schools are excluded because they don't make the minimum number. Urban schools, on the other hand, are too large and diverse to "escape" the subgroup accountability.
When asked by AP whether too many kids are excluded from accountability because of subgroup size, Secretary Spellings said, "Is it too many? You bet. Are there things we need to do to look at, batten down the hatches, make sure those kids are part of the system? You bet."
Then you wonder why the secretary allowed states to increase their subgroup size in the first place.
Posted April 19, 2006 10:10 AM | No Child Left Behind
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