| Subject: NCLB |
Author:
pjk
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Date Posted: 10/13/04 11:39:02pm
hey
A leviathan topic - no doubt. Lots of ins and outs with lots of creeks and rivers to explore.
Testing is always a testy issue and it seems to be the crux of how "accountability" is enforced with NCLB. There's just too much stuff written already for me to elaborate any further how measuring knowledge is never an open and shut case. When millions and billions are riding on it, as well as political careers, well...
I think pa's point about the boon to the testing industry is probably where this thing will die... people will see a disporportionate amount of moolah spent on tests compared to actual teaching and enrichment and say, no thanks. It was a nice (stupid?) idea, but... we have other priorities.
My personal take on NCLB, stripping it off all its window dressing and multifacted issues, is that it is back door attempt for the privatization of public education. It was only 10 years ago that the republicans tried to eliminate the Dept. of Education from the Federal Govt. There is little evidence for me to believe that the republicans are sincere in their rhetoric to help minorities with much of anything.
Did you guys catch the news out of California about thousands of kids left without a school when the private company that was supposed to teach them filed for bankruptcy and got out of dodge? Big news in California.
Here in Colorado, just a mile from my house, sits the first school to be taken over by the State (next year). The republicans, who used to be for smaller government and local control, put the works in motion about 10 years ago here in Colo. Now we here in the Columbine state will have the privilege of watching the state wrest control over poor performing schools from local school boards (in some pathetic way I think the school boards are relieved to schluff them off on the state!) thereby creating a new level of bureaucracy at the state level. So much for smaller government and local control. The Denver School Board role is to just work with whomever wins the bid on who will run the physical school. There have been 2 for profit companies & one parent group. The State will pick the winner. (any guesses on who'll get the bid?) I'm curious to see if any appreciable difference will be made by the new care takers. To say the least, I'm skeptical. Like you have both alluded to, it's hard to make up for not having decent food, guidance with homework, transience, and a culture of poverty where one's identity is at times more easily fused with thugz pimps and whoes than it is with Oliver Wendall Holmes. Struggling schools be they inner city or rural have been looking for answers across the nation and worldwide for decades. If there is something extraordinary that a private company can do, then there will be much rejoicing across the land. As it stands, the data comparing for-profit schools and charter schools as compared to public schools with similar populations is mixed. Slightly better here, slightly worse there, and much the same in between.
It is my understanding that with NCLB, what happened to Cole will happen to any school in any state in the nation that does not show consistent improvement... and eventaully 100% success rate. Talk about a new layer of bureaucracy... that maybe someday the democrats will control!
I've come across various unintended consequences where high powered suburban schools have been caught up like dolphins in big fishing nets... they are already so good that they are punished for not showing enough improvement gains!
But I'm sure those bugs will be worked it out until it accomplishes what it set out to do - destroy public education and apply the rough and tumble free market principles to public education. Milton Friedman wrote about it in a book called "Public Education: An Autopsy," also about 10 years old.
pa - not only Hawaii but also Virginia and, I believe, Utah have decided NCLB is a net loss for them and so have opted out. (two pretty strong bastions of the republican party).
There's lots out there about how Bush and Paige have spun the facts to make Texas look like something it's not. I seem to recall word being that Texas is somewhat of a basket case after feeling the effects of Bush and Paige - worst scores in the nation, high drop out rates, and so on.
I'm guessing some good may come from it, but I'm also guessing there will be more harm than benefit.
Here's an example of the corruption involved and directly linked to Bush:
http://www.pubadvocate.nyc.gov/press/050603.shtml
Here's website that is admittedly liberal and pro-public education that has lots of critiques about Bush and NCLB. The articles are quite good. There's lots of stuff that pertains to Milwaukee as well.
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/
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