Posted on 06/06/2007 1:48:30 AM PDT by ricks_place
Study's Authors Unsure Whether to Credit Law for Gains
The nation's students have performed significantly better on state reading and math tests since President Bush signed his landmark education initiative into law five years ago, according to a major independent study released yesterday.
The study's authors warned that it is difficult to say whether or how much the No Child Left Behind law is driving the achievement gains. But Republican and Democratic supporters of the law said the findings indicate that it has been a success. Some said the findings bolster the odds that Congress will renew the controversial law this year.
"This study confirms that No Child Left Behind has struck a chord of success with our nation's schools and students," U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in a statement. "We know the law is working, so now is the time to reauthorize."
The report, which experts called the most comprehensive analysis of test data from all 50 states since 2002, concluded that the achievement gap between black and white students is shrinking in many states and that the pace of student gains increased after the law was enacted. The findings were particularly significant because of their source: the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy, which in recent years has issued several reports that have found fault with aspects of the law's implementation.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Teachers can and should TEACH. You can’t make kids learn. Some have little or no parental involvement to encourage them to learn. The requirement to pass the test is not my favorite, but it does get the kids attention. It does make them aware that at some point, they are the ones responsible for their learning/achievement.
You won’t hear a defense of any of these boneheaded expansions of government power we’ve seen over the past 7 years. Not even the ‘faith-based’ stuff.
The Federal airport security guys are another one. The airlines have a vested interest in flight safety- they should have done it.
Are the literacy test all the same nation wide? Or, do the states make up the tests and then teach to the tests?
The article is very vague. It says readins scores are up but posts no data. Are they up 1% or 10%?
No Child Left Behind was another one of Bush's neo-liberal attempts at "doing something".
Because Bush didn't write the bill.
see #21
If I have to answer that question honestly I would have to say yes, Ted Kennedy is good for MA. Let me explain though (please let me preface this as saying I can not stand the man, or the Kennedys in general).
Ted Kennedy is old school politics. Tip O’Neil’s “all politics is local” is pretty much his philosophy. He will do anything for his constituents. He will make all of his resources available for his constituents. He doesn’t check the donor list like Kerry does before helping them.
The state needs funding for x,y or z? Ted Kennedy will do his best to secure it.
Now that said, he is horrible for the Nation. He is a true socialist, and is borderline senile. However he will hold his seat for as long as he wants it because he takes care of his constituents. That is it in a nutshell.
I do not like the immigratin bill - no matter what you call it, it is amnesty.
The prescription drug bill is being bad-mouthed by conservatives because it expands gov't, but no one wants to point out the reason W gave - spend money to PREVENT worse health/hospitalization down the road, possibly helping medicare (which I don't like at all).
I would like to see us move away from the Kennedy wing of the Republican party.
When he campaigned on improving education he never said he was going to create an entirely new bureaucracy in the process. Most of us assumed he was going to return control to the states and local govt.s and allow parents control over their children's education. Most teachers complain about the bill because it doesn't give them freedom to "teach". It forces them to follow guidlines set by someone in Washington.
This bill was another reach into the pockets of taxpayers and into the local school boards around the country. Many schools had good programs in place that were doing fine and needed no intervention.
The only place this bill may have been needed was in the big cities. That's where bureaucracies have turned education systems into welfare day cares.
Besides, if you read the article it shows no statistics about the increase in scores. Did they increase 1%, 5% or 10%?
Right. Can the Education leftists explain how creativity comes out of the current system?!
Having a wife who has recently returned to public education, I can tell you categorically the test results are cooked.
It is from the post. What do you expect?
'The only place this bill may have been needed was in the big cities. That's where bureaucracies have turned education systems into welfare day cares.'
Most urban areas are also blue - let's not hold anyone reponsible for themselves - it's too hard. There are a lot of kids there who need to be taught. This tries to force that. It does not happen overnight.
One thing that bothers me is many trying to blame W for everything without taking into account all of the contentiousness that he has had to deal with/work around.
That is true in many places. That has more to do with 'character' (of admin, etc) than anything else.
This assumes, of course, we don't simply home-school as a culture (the best way, imo, but not workable as a universal solution). I hate publicly funded schools, but since we have them, the best way to work them is to have as much parental involvement as possible.
There are, of course, real problems with charter schools as well (the most motivated parents are often the biggest nutcases, and parents today seem oblivious to the fact that little Johnny can be a monster if not disciplined), but those problems are eclipsed by a structure in which those responsible for teacher accountability are the unions.
"No child left behind" has actually REDUCED the overall scores in my wife's charter school, as disproportionate time is now spent with kids who are damaged, as opposed to helping the brightest kids perform to the limit of their capacities.
If you want the feds to run your life please go to Germany or some other country.
The US has a constitution that is supposed to guard us from the federal government but thanks TO the federals we have lost a large percentage of that consitutional protection.
From who? Conservatives that feel he has abandonded them?
Or, from liberals who were going to despise him no matter what?
I left Bush years ago. He has not ever vetoed a spending bill despite the fact that spending has very nearly doubled under his admin.
He signed CFR which is certainly not a conservative based bill.
He abandonded me and the other conservatives long ago. The contentiousness of which you speak is of his own doing. He can't articulate his position to save his life (Unless it come to legalizing mexicans than the words flow). He may be a nice guy but he has proven to be, at best, a mediocre president as far as this conservative is concerned.
So, you are defending a bill based on unkown statistics?
The dims have constantly attacked him. I guess you think the MSM has been nice to him. The 2000 election was just the start of it all.
I am not defending the bill, nor am I defending the MSM.
In my wife's case, it is the special ed people she is referring to. It is not a case of principals changing grades or something that blatant. The special ed kids are given outrageous help, and thus the grades are inflated.
My wife gave "C" grades to several kids this year and you would have thought she had roasted the kids in an oven from the parents responses. IMAGINE! A kid in the 5th grade who cannot add fractions, read and comprehend simple words like "mountain range" "tundra" "confederacy" "nation" "republic" and "democracy," who has received straight A grades his entire school time. My wife bravely said "A C is NOT a failing grade! It is a GOOD grade! It is an AVERAGE grade. There is nothing in that grade for your child to be ashamed of." It is grade inflation along with the insistence on "mainstreaming" children who have real problems which creates part of the problem. The other is the meddling attitude of the Fed. "No child left behind" is blatantly unconstitutional in its purpose AND scope.
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