COW Tippping

Last week, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the Ed Dept’s Inspector General to look into why NCLB funds are being spent on products from Neil Bush’s Ignite! Learning.

At issue is the COW (Curriculum on Wheels), a cart-mounted video projector and hard drive loaded with a year’s supply of Ignite!’s social studies, science, or math curricula.  CREW says Ignite’s products have no proven track record of raising student achievement.

CREW notes that its ”three-month investigation revealed that school districts are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, including NCLB funds, on Ignite!’s [COW]…. At a standard price of $3,800-$4,200 per unit, the COW is a very expensive device with limited use….  Adding to the initial expense, schools must pay an annual $1,000 licensing, upkeep and upgrade fee in order to retain the COW for more than one year.”

Must. Not. Make. Obvious. Cash. Cow. Comment.

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