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October 5, 2006

NCLB is enemy of its own goal

Instead of righting the wrong of inequity and inequality poor and minority children face in public education, the No Child Left Behind Act has caused more rationing of education, Jennifer Booher-Jennings, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Columbia University, wrote in an editorial in the Washington Post. By not giving credit to schools and students for the progress they make, she observed that the law simply incentivizes educators to help the 'bubble kids" who are on the cusp of proficiency and ignore those who are too far below grade level and therefore "hopeless" in reaching proficiency in one year's time.

It's nothing new that NCLB, in its current form, provides the wrong incentive for teachers and administrators to focus on certain students. That's why the discussion of using a growth model has intensified and Congress has express interested in examining the issue. But the U.S. Department of Education is slow to respond, allowing only two states to use growth models for the 2005-06 adequate yearly progress results. Six other states whose applications were turned down earlier this year are supposed to have already turned in their revised plans by now. While the remaining states have until November to turn in their applications, ED has insisted that no more than 10 states will be allowed to use the growth model. Why such restrictive policy when many states are eager and ready to implement the growth system? See this.

Booher-Jennings is right on target when she pointed out that policymakers, not teachers, "must be held accountable for implementing a policy that rewards schools for privileging some students at the expense of others." Therefore, policymakers are the ones who must fix the problem during next year's reauthorization. See this bill introduced in Congress. Otherwise, "we face five more years of lost opportunities for America's children," she warned.

Posted October 5, 2006 4:15 PM | No Child Left Behind

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