Reply #14: nea.org

[Ardee]

Test and Punish
If you thought things couldn't get worse, consider this: The number of schools subject to punishment under the so-called "No Child Left Behind" law has skyrocketed. Title I schools face stiff consequences if they fail for two years to meet the dozens of test score and attendance targets that together make up what the law calls "adequate yearly progress" (AYP). It's been two years since the law has been in effect, and the tallying has begun.
In the 39 states reporting their AYP results by NEA Today's press deadline, the number of schools that missed AYP for two or more years reached 6,794, or 12 percent of the schools in those states—nearly double the number as last year. As a result, Title I schools in this group must now let parents transfer their children to other schools at the district's expense—even if the receiving schools have no space. And the penalties just get stiffer for schools that miss AYP again.

On the bright side, most states had fewer schools that missed AYP for at least one year. Last year, nearly a third of the nation's schools missed AYP. Unfortunately, this year's results are not comparable to last year's because some of the federal rules have shifted and some states are applying the rules differently.

Next year, things likely will get worse because the AYP standards will be even higher. Several states predict that nearly every school eventually will fail as the standards keep going up—unless educators persuade Congress and the President to fix the law. To help, go to www.nea.org/lac.


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It seems to me that Bush actually cut 27 billion from the NCLB bill ,making it basically an unfunded mandate that states are struggling to meet.....