Posted on 08/30/2005 5:55:59 AM PDT by OESY
When Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a liberal Democrat, decided to sue the federal government over testing provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act, he probably wasn't expecting flak from his political left. But that's exactly what he's received since filing the lawsuit last week.
As first reported in the Hartford Courant, two national civil rights leaders, William Taylor and John Brittain, fired a letter to Mr. Blumenthal calling the lawsuit "ill-advised" and disputing his claim that the federal law is "an unfunded mandate." Messrs. Taylor and Brittain run civil rights organizations based in Washington but are veterans of Connecticut's school-desegregation wars. Their threat to break with traditional political allies is welcome as a change from the lock-step fealty of black leaders to the education status quo.
In an interview yesterday Mr. Taylor said he supports the law's attempt to tackle the yawning achievement gap between white and minority students by emphasizing standards and accountability. "There's no single position emanating from the civil rights community," said Mr. Taylor, "but there's a strong view that school reform at the federal level is necessary."...
Mr. Blumenthal has long been rumored to have ambitions for higher political office, which could explain his willingness to do the bidding of unions and well-to-do parents. But it turns out the Nutmeg State also has more practical reasons to oppose the law. Connecticut is a poster child for how a state's "average" test scores can hide the fact that millions of children are underperforming....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I've been trying to tell people on FR that the NEA hates No Child Left Behind, and my motto is if the NEA hates it, I'm for it.
Are you part of the NEA?
The NEA is always stating that it is the only and almost divine like organization that can teach America's children.
NCLB now puts the NEA to a test.
No my wife was a teacher until she got so mad at the administration that she quit. The admin puts a lot of pressure on teachers to pass the tests, and many of her friends were encouraged to fake the tests.
I think the idea behind NCLB is great, but the law is poorly written. The tests should have to be done by an agency not connected to the schools.
I think the idea behind NCLB is great, but the law is poorly written. The tests should have to be done by an agency not connected to the schools.
Well we can agree on one thing and that is the NEA has messed up American education, and that is why I think NLCB is a good thing because it drives the cindy sheehan like NEA batty.
My biggest problem is it asks the fox to guard the hen house. If there is a problem, don't have those who caused it be responsible for claiming victory. Also, the NCLB goals are a bit nuts. It doesn't take in to account things like special ed kids. Many kids with Down's syndrome will not read at grade level, but there is no exception at this time.
Uh, but those supposedly claiming victory(according to you, ted kennedy and the NEA) are now yelping now that the fox has been kicked out. Just like natural foxes(democrats) always do.
I have a child with ds. My child does not take the test given to 'normal' peers. NCLB does give an option for kids with TRUE mental retardation. Each state does have their own rules, in mine they use alternative 'testing'.
The problem you're describing is probably from those states that have decided that any child in sped. who is fully included in with their same age peers (per IEP and needed supports and adaptation to the curriclum) must take the test.
That's not necessarily true, the restriction on the number of kids not taking the test was put in place because of dumping. If you don't think many kids who will never be Einstiens aren't/weren't getting dumped into sped just to increase the percentage of the schools you might want to rethink that position.
A child who is labeled as EBD and getting sped supports is probably very capable of taking the standard test, but was probably getting out of it based on being in a sped catagory. A child with an emotional problem might have a low normal IQ and pull the schools passing rate down. that goes for kids with the ADD, adhd and other labels that are not MR.
One problem when MN first started testing is the first class that HAD to pass the test in my school thought it was a joke and really didn't care what they got as a grade, this lowered the schools passing rate and in the end really shocked the kids who'd just goofed off when they failed and were told they couldn't graduate until they passed it. Most passed it when they retook it, the ones that didn't really were kids with cognitive problems (processing) who really did struggle to get the passing grade. One thing i disagreed with was the fact that they kept increasing the percentage needed to pass the test. For those with learning delays the goal then becomes amost impossible.
The conter point to that is the federal government gives money to schools for each special education child. If on top of that they excuse special education students from testing there will be an even greater pressure to label more students as special ed kids. "Student picks nose excessively: special ed. Student would rather look out window that study: special ed. Student hacked through the school's firewall and Freeps all day on his portable computer: special ed."
I question the premise of No Child Left Behind. If you set up a system where you expect no child to be left behind, maybe you aren't pushing the children at the head of the class hard enough.
Could you please point out the section of the Constitution that authorizes the federal government to be involved in education? My motto is that if Ted Kennedy and George Bush agree on something, I'm against it. Bi-partisan legislation is the worst of the worst.
NCLB is bad because it's big government intrusion into state matters. You can't hold Mississippi to the same standard you'd hold Maryland and expect results in a year, it's ludicrous.
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