No, No, No

The Burlington Free Press editorializestoday that NCLB focuses too much on punishing students and schools when it should be emphasizing improvement.

“No Child Left Behind gets it wrong from the first word, ‘No.’ That word says that failing schools will be punished rather than receive help to become better,” the editorial states.

Inevitably then, the public fixates on whether a school passed or failed under NCLB — a grade that hardly tells the whole story. And then there’s the false hope of the law’s punitive provision that allows parents to send their kids to other schools, which the Free Press calls ”an unrealistic option in much of the state.”

Speaking of the false promise of school choice, we’ve not commented on the recent voucher defeat in Utah, but for your weekend reading, here’s a nice piece from Pat Rusk of Utahns for Public Schools [DailyKos via Utah's Accountability blog]. Looks like Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne is setting his sights on South Carolina next.

Explore posts in the same categories: accountability, parents & community