Irked Educators Target No Child Left Behind

[NATO AIR]

both parties dropped the ball on this mess, its a stupid program that has perfectly good districts "failing" and punishes poor districts so thoroughly they don't get an adequate chance to recover, now here come the lawsuits

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6379209/

Educators target No Child Left Behind
Lawsuits expected to challenge bill's standards, penalties
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:13 a.m. ET Nov. 1, 2004THERMAL, Calif. - The federal No Child Left Behind Act threatens costly penalties for schools deemed failing to meet academic standards. In response, many educators have a threat of their own: A flood of lawsuits aimed at avoiding the sanctions.

Since President Bush signed the sweeping education reforms in 2002, the law has drawn criticism from educators debating its strict performance and test requirements. The act requires all students to be proficient in reading, writing and math by 2014.

Starting this academic year, parents of children in failing schools can demand transfers to better campuses. Over the next four years, schools must offer tutoring services, administrators and teachers can be fired, states can take over districts, and federal funds can be withheld.

Coachella Valley Unified School District — which includes Oasis Elementary School — could be among the nation’s first to challenge the law. The school board is considering suing federal and state governments, claiming the district is being held to unreachable goals.

“Coachella is the tip of the iceberg,” John Perez, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said, adding that the law “doesn’t take into account things it needs to.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, students at more than 27,500 schools nationwide — almost 31 percent of all U.S. public schools — are failing at math and reading.

Language challenges cited
Last December, Reading School District in Pennsylvania sued over its low performance rating, arguing its Spanish-speaking students couldn’t read the tests. About two-thirds of the district’s 16,000 students are Hispanic; 15 percent have limited English proficiency.

But, judges ruled that testing in a student’s native language is not mandatory, only required “to the extent that it is practicable to do so.” The district plans to appeal.

“It’s a wonderful title, No Child Left Behind. Who could ever disagree with that?” said Richard Guida, a lawyer for the Reading district. “But kids are all different and, unfortunately, this calls for a cookie-cutter approach to education that doesn’t take difference into account. Some kids will be left behind.”

At Oasis Elementary, more than 90 percent of the school’s students are Hispanic and come from families of migrant workers surviving on less than $10,000 a year, the principal says. They are taught in English — still a foreign language for many.

Christian Rocha, 8, looks down as he recalled last year’s tests.

“Estaba trabajoso,” he says quietly, or “I worked really hard.”

But he didn’t pass.

Though there are plans to create a Spanish-language test, development won’t begin until at least 2006, said Linda Lownes, a consultant for the state Education Department. In California, students must take standardized tests in English.

Mounting expectations
Kathleen Leos, of the federal Education Department, noted that states have the option of excluding test scores of students who have been enrolled in a U.S. school less than one academic year. States also can decide whether to offer a student reading and math tests for up to three years in languages other than English.

That’s little comfort for district officials struggling to keep up with mounting academic expectations.

“It’s unfair to hold us accountable for something students can’t possibly know,” said Foch Pensis, Coachella Valley district superintendent. “How do you hold these children to the same standard that you would a child in Iowa who has never been exposed to another language? It’s ludicrous.”

Pensis plans to seek allies in a class action lawsuit if legislators don’t try to ease the burden for schools with large numbers of English-language learners. Education Department officials, however, say the No Child Left Behind Act gives considerable leeway to such districts.

Bush has touted the law in campaign stump speeches as a centerpiece of his domestic agenda, describing it as a way to hold schools accountable for children they might otherwise ignore.

The federal government allocated a total of $58.3 billion for the program in fiscal year 2005, but critics — including Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry — said that’s far short of the money needed for schools.

In the meantime, at Oasis Elementary, where tests show most students know less than 15 words of English, educators are working to improve scores. They’re also hiring outside consultants to better train teachers.

“We’ll always have new children who don’t speak the language, yet each year more and more students are required to pass,” Principal Elizabeth Clipper said. “How do we ever catch up?”

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

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[Trinity]

This is something I need to do more research on before I can really form an opinion.

However I have a child in the 3rd grade, who all thru 2nd grade his teacher when questioned about his reading ability stated oh he's doing fine, right where he should be. Then he entered the third grade and took their reading assesment test and guess what, he' reading at the end of a 1st grade level. My question how does a child go from being where he should be at the end of 2nd grade to reading at the end of a 1st grade level at the start of 3rd grade? Now don't think that I leave it entirely up to the school to teach my child I have been working with him on his reading since he started kindergarten, and I noticed in 2nd grade some other kid's were reading chapter books which is when I started questioning his teacher, who replied with, he's right were he should be. Well no he's not, because if he does not pass this next reading test in March he will fail the 3rd grade. Are you ready? here's the kicker they know how hard he is struggling with reading there are also several other children I know of in the 3rd grade that are struggling, but they do not have any type of tutoring or special reading classes for anyone beyond 1st grade. So how can these kid's not be left behind? if they have no extra help of any kind, for them?

 

[NATO AIR]

This is something I need to do more research on before I can really form an opinion.

However I have a child in the 3rd grade, who all thru 2nd grade his teacher when questioned about his reading ability stated oh he's doing fine, right where he should be. Then he entered the third grade and took their reading assesment test and guess what, he' reading at the end of a 1st grade level. My question how does a child go from being where he should be at the end of 2nd grade to reading at the end of a 1st grade level at the start of 3rd grade? Now don't think that I leave it entirely up to the school to teach my child I have been working with him on his reading since he started kindergarten, and I noticed in 2nd grade some other kid's were reading chapter books which is when I started questioning his teacher, who replied with, he's right were he should be. Well no he's not, because if he does not pass this next reading test in March he will fail the 3rd grade. Are you ready? here's the kicker they know how hard he is struggling with reading there are also several other children I know of in the 3rd grade that are struggling, but they do not have any type of tutoring or special reading classes for anyone beyond 1st grade. So how can these kid's not be left behind? if they have no extra help of any kind, for them?

i can fully understand the frustration you're experiencing. i have many friends who are entering their teaching careers this past year and this year, and they're shocked that the well-awarded, successful schools they teach at are "failing" under the No Child Left Behind Act.

It was poorly concieved and implemented, and lacks the full funding it is supposed to have. Even worse, it encourages and deepens the dependence of our education system on standardized tests, which force teachers to "teach the test" and give up many of the creative teaching most good and effective teachers once succeeded in reaching students with.

The kids are getting screwed because the politicians and teacher's unions (both those allied with and adversaries of) are unable to move beyond partisan bickering and intelligent, innovative improvement of a failed education system.

all we get is rhetoric and bullshit.