Mike
I see.....so we should just get rid of truancy laws? Maybe we should get rid of compulsary education all together?
Many don’t understand how NCLB works. States set standards for what they expect kids to master at each grade level. Each year the number of kids who must be rated “Profcient” or higher is raised. This year the number was set at 75 percent. (in 2014 it will be 100 percent.)
No one really believes it is possible to achieve this. Logic tells us that half of the population at large is below average in intelligence. Some are far below average, yet we are expected to get them to basically work at grade level. On a personal note, I have 8th graders who are reading at an 11th or 12th grade level and some as you might expect, read at a 4th grade level on their best days.
So what are we to do? Some schools, like Atlanta choose to cheat. Some states have tried to lower the standards—states that had high standards before NCLB got hammered by its yearly rise in what constitutes a passing grade. Many schools now devote their entire curriculum and classroom day to passing the test. Many elementary schools are dropping classes like history since it’s not on the test.
And even then, most schools fail to meet the standard. This year 16 percent of Missouri school districts passed NCLB. And it is not enough that 75 percent of your students pass...75 percent of students on free/reduced lunches have to pass, 75 percent of identifiable minorities (which includes blacks, Asians, Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Pacific Islanders if memory serves) have to pass, 75 percent of limited English speakers have to pass and 75 percent of IEP students (that’s “special Ed) also have to pass.
Just thought some of you would be interested in why so many schools are not meeting NCLB standards. In a couple of years none will.