'No Child' vexes Montana superintendent | Missoulian

[Ediacara]

'No Child' vexes superintendent
By JOHN STROMNES of the Missoulian

POLSON - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch said Thursday that the federal Department of Education has made some concessions to the needs of rural states like Montana in rules implementing the controversial No Child Left Behind Act.

But she said she is still concerned about the expense of testing to comply with the act, and the inflexible federal measurement of a school's success, which seems to doom many Montana public schools to a failing grade, no matter whether the students' proficiency improves or not.

"It still makes no sense to me that we have a federal education law, and I'm spending 80 percent of my time on this law, while the federal government funds only about 12 percent of our school budgets," Montana's top elected education official said during an interview at Polson Middle School.

"I've got other important things to do" than work on No Child Left Behind, she said.

More at the Missoulian

ON EDIT: Even GOP blowhard lame-duck governor Judy Martz is on a rampage against NCLB, so you know there's REALLY something gone wrong with it...

[John Q. Citizen]

1. McCulloch is right on

I saw very interesting documentary on MTPBS about the NCLB act that went into depth on the problems many of the small rural districts are facing as a result of the "one size fits all" nature of the Act.

I wonder what Rehberg has to say. I bet it won't be long before he starts running away from his non accountability record vis a vis the Bush administration.

[struggle4progress]

2. There is real and growing anger across the country about NCLB:

The law was not carefully thought through, and it has been underfunded. It de-emphasizes art and music education and relies excessively on testing, but without providing meaningful measurements. And the vaunted sanctions, as designed, do not provide prompt relief. In short, we were sold a lemon.


A mixed report card for No Child Left Behind law
By ROB HOTAKAINEN
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
July 19, 2004

SARASOTA, Fla
<snip>
Florida is the latest example of the growing backlash against the No Child Left Behind law, which requires schools to conduct yearly tests in reading and math for all students in grades 3-8. In an unusual twist, the administration of Gov. Bush is now handing out bonus checks for excellent performance to some of the same schools that are falling short under No Child Left Behind.
"It's the whole issue of unintended consequences," said David Shreve of the National Conference of State Legislatures. "It just wasn't thought out very well." Across the nation, he said, the law is producing "a great deal of roiled emotions."
<snip>

http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=EDU-CAMPAIGN-07-19-04&cat=PP


Funding For No Child Left Behind Act Questioned
Web Site Allows Parents To Look Up Districts
POSTED: 4:09 pm EDT July 28, 2004
UPDATED: 4:39 pm EDT July 28, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A national education association said Wednesday in Columbus that it is concerned that the No Child Left Behind Act sets high standards without giving school districts the needed funds to meet them, NewsChannel 4's Elenora Andrews reported.

Communities For Quality Education said the lack of funding leaves school districts scrambling to try to get voters to pass levies.

The group said that, on average, the government gives districts less than half the money needed to carry out the program.

"It promises resources to kids, it's never fully funded and it requires a lot of testing," said Samantha Anderson of Communities For Quality Education. "So, the resources, instead of going to the classroom, are going to toward tests, and it actually takes money away from kids' educations."
<snip>

http://www.nbc4columbus.com/education/3588414/detail.html


No Child Left Behind Is Big Part Of The Problem
posted July 5, 2004

... State and local communities all over the country are coping with the worst budget shortfalls since World War II, forcing lay offs and cutting out certain important educational features such as sports, teachers, and support staff.

In many districts across America, layoffs of teachers and inability to buy new school books and technology, are being forced, and instruction time is being cut from the curriculum. Head Start slots have been eliminated in some states and thousands fewer children are being served.

Much of what has gone wrong can be laid at the door of the President's budget in the No Child Left Behind Act. He is helping to make it necessary to cut high quality teachers, manageable class sizes and aftershcool programs. To make a long story short, the President is not fulfilling his promise to Leave No Child Behind. By not funding on the level that he promised, thousands of children in school districts around America will have fewer resources this year than last year. The No child Left Behind Act is a failed promise.

The President's budget is $9.4 billion less than he agreed to when he signed the No Child Left Behind Act. He also is wiping out funding for 38 existing education programs and other critical programs.
<snip>

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_52490.asp


Sunday, July 25, 2004
No Child Left Behind leaves out art programs
Educators fight to retain classes, as schools focus solely on reading, math
By Karen MacPherson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Arts educators cheered when the arts were declared a “core” academic subject under the No Child Left Behind education reform measure signed into law two years ago by President Bush.

Since then, however, those cheers have turned to consternation as arts educators have watched school districts across the country cut classroom time and funding for art and music. School officials say they now need to focus most of their attention and money on reading and math — the subjects in which students are tested annually under this law.

But arts educators, joined by groups representing teachers, parents, school administrators, school boards, are fighting back. Citing research showing a strong correlation between the arts and students’ academic success, these groups have mounted national public awareness campaigns aimed at convincing parents, educators and school board members about the importance of arts education in creating well-rounded students.
<snip>

http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0407/25/a09-221975.htm



No Child Left Behind has teachers singing protest songs
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — At first, Lily Eskelsen's sparkling alto lends her the air of a latter-day Joan Baez. She's strumming a guitar softly — how far behind can the songs be about the coal miners? But the former Utah teacher's subject soon becomes clear:

A bureaucrat came to our town.
And at first we thought he jested,
He said, "When I get through with you folks,
There'll be no child left untested."

She performed the song (with the unforgettable hook "If we have to test their butts off, there'll be no child's behind left") this week at the National Education Association's annual meeting.
<snip>

Teachers "think it's phony and get very angry when someone calls it 'high standards,' " says Eskelsen, who pressed 4,000 CDs to sell at $15 each as a fundraiser for NEA's political action committee.
<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-07-06-nea-protest-songs_x.htm



Revise No Child Left Behind to measure what's really important
ANTOINETTE JOHNS

<snip>
Unfortunately, NCLB is not focused on the most important aspect of teaching and learning. We should be assessing children's skills upon entry, determining their strengths, weaknesses and learning gaps. Then we should teach according to their needs and report on the growth of each child from one year to the next. We should not be reporting how this year's third grade compares with last year's third grade, etc.

Yes, we want to teach for high achievement, but growth or value added, as the business world would say, is critical to achieving excellence. In short, comparing schools is not fair because students in each school are not statistically the same as they enter. Our accountability process started before NCLB and it will continue. But the purpose of NCLB must be revisited followed by a refinement of procedures and details to ensure a model of fairness and logic.
<snip>

Public schools are the place of hope for many children, and our responsibility is to educate each one. However, NCLB is not a panacea. It needs to be revised.

Johns is superintendent of Brooklyn Center schools, 6500 N. Humboldt Ave., Brooklyn Center MN 55430.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/9191941.htm


Parents cool to No Child
By PATTI GHEZZI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/31/04

<snip>
Among the problems cited by parents:

• More than three-fourths of Georgia's schools met the state testing goals this year. But just because a school passed does not mean it doesn't have problems. The bar was relatively low this year and will increase next year and then every few years.
• Some good schools didn't meet state testing goals because students in one group — based on race, poverty or special needs — fell short. Yet the whole school bears the label of needing improvement, which is enough to send some parents shopping for a private school or seeking a transfer to another public school.
• Parents with children at schools not meeting the state testing goals often have to be patient. The law requires the school to offer transfers only after two years of failure in the same subject. Requirements that schools offer tutoring don't kick in until the third year.
• Some say the law doesn't help one group at all: bright students. Parents complain that the resources poured into helping the weakest students leave smart ones to languish.
• States create their own standards, meaning Georgia developed its own test and established the percentage of students required to pass. This gives parents no context for how their school compares with others in the region or across the nation.
<snip>

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0804/01lsnochild.html?UrAuth=`N^NUO`NUUbTTUWUXUUUZTYU^UWU_U`UZU\U]UcTYWYWZV