Posted on 08/10/2011 6:02:20 AM PDT by Pan_Yan
States are rushing for the No Child Left Behind exit door.
Within hours of Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s announcement Monday that he will grant waivers from federal mandates, several states announced that they would apply for relief. Many others are expressing interest, pending the release of more details next month.
Tennessee didn’t wait for Mr. Duncan’s news conference: The state sent its waiver request two weeks ago.
The mad dash to escape high-stakes testing and gain more flexibility represents “a sense of desperation” among states, said Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators.
“There’s no question that school districts and the states themselves are looking for anything that will provide a break,” he told The Washington Times on Tuesday, adding that states and school leaders are taking a “we’ll do whatever it is you want us to do” attitude toward Mr. Duncan’s waiver proposal.
...
The mystery surrounding the details of the plan doesn’t appear to be deterring states.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton announced Monday, while the ink was still drying on the transcript of Mr. Duncan’s announcement, that his state will take part in the waiver program.
He said in a statement that No Child Left Behind “has harmed, not improved, the quality of students’ learning experiences,” and he will gladly accept an escape route.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
This is a good thing. Several years ago I predicted that we’d gradually move away from this kind of “command and control” educational thinking. Schooling ought not to be primarily all about scoring high on math and reading tests.
Pray tell, if math and reading aren’t important to schooling what is?
What's been bad is the testing methodology. There should be zero opportunity for malfeasance. Private schools widely participate in standardized testing, why should incompetent, inept public schools get a pass?
We accept standardized testing for college entry, for grad school entry, for certifications, advancement and skills verification on the job… WHY is it illegitimate for benchmarking the quality of primary and secondary public education?
The only real solution is to get government out of education altogether. If government had been in charge of transportation, we would still be riding horses.
yep...talked to one vice-principal who seemed to think Bush should have brought cash to her.....
“Schooling ought not to be primarily all about scoring high on math and reading tests.”
That statement does not mean that math and reading are not important. Let parents decide just how far and in which directions their own children need to be educated. Having the government come in and make those decisions is failing miserably before our eyes.
Some parents expect high academic achievement in certain areas; some parents are satisfied with having their kids read and write at some minimal standard...but really want their children to excell in some kind of sports activity. I know one family that takes every opportunity to teach their kids about hunting, fishing, and processing game, and they occaisonally take their boys out of class to do it.
You will promote high levels of acheivement across the board if parents had more of an opportunity to define what education should be for their own children.
I’m in Texas, where high school football is a big deal.
Imagine what high school football would be like if everyone, regardless of interest or ability, were forced to participate at some arbitrarily defined ‘high level’...that’s what we are currently experiencing in our academic programs.
“Pray tell, if math and reading aren’t important to schooling what is?”
Is that what I said, pray tell? Read it again, please.
You are right they are closing the gap-—the wrong way.
They are closing it by dumbing down, instead of wising up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.