Bipartisan Study Assails No Child Left Behind Act -NYT

[Rose Siding]

A bipartisan panel of state lawmakers that studied the effectiveness of President Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative assailed it today as a flawed, convoluted and unconstitutional education reform effort that had usurped state and local control of public schools.

While the report, based on hearings in several cities, praised the legislation's goal of ending the gap in scholastic achievement between white and minority students, most of its 77 pages was devoted to a detailed inventory and discussion of the initiative's flaws.

It found that the law undermined other school improvement efforts already under way in many states, and it said that the law's accountability system, which punishes schools whose students fail to improve steadily on standardized tests, relied on the wrong indicators.

"Under N.C.L.B., the federal government's role has become excessively intrusive in the day-to-day operations of public education," the National Conference of State Legislatures said in its panel's report. "The task force does not believe that N.C.L.B. is constitutional."......MORE.........

http://nytimes.com/2005/02/23/education/23cnd-child.html?hp&ex=1109221200&en=396845f77966676e&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[marmar]

1. No Child Left Behind...

is nothing more than attempt to destabilize public schools and open up federal coffers to parochial and charter schools. There's an agenda behind everything this administration does. They're not to be trusted, at all.

[whistle]

3. Thank you, I've been saying that from the get go!

[Massacure]

7. Yup. Incompetant best case scenario, brain washing in worst case.

It's bad no matter what angle you view it from.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

2. What Page Did They Stick This On?

I'm sure something more important was on Page 1. Oh, and thanks for printing this AFTER the election. This country's news media sucks, and I am glad I refuse to watch it anymore.

[marmar]

4. Amen!

Luckily, here in southeast Michigan we get the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s news and its great newsmagazine, the Fifth Estate. Sadly, that's the only place you'll see balanced coverage of Iraq and this administration.

[LynnTheDem]

5. And Dems have been saying exactly this from Day 1. I hope rightwingnuts

get tired soon of always being lied to by the republican party. You'd think if they had enough braincells to find their way out of the womb, they'd have enough to have realized by now that BUSH LIES. ALL republicans LIE.

[54anickel]

6. Gee, imagine - yet another miserable failure from the same...n/t

[solinvictus]

8. NCLB...

It's funny, the administration's trying to cut funding to it now because they admit it was a failure. So much for "the education president".

[truthpusher]

9. Report Faults Bush Initiative on Education ('flawed & unconstitutional')

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/education/24child.html?

Report Faults Bush Initiative on Education
By SAM DILLON

Published: February 24, 2005

Concluding a yearlong study on the effectiveness of President Bush's sweeping education law, No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers drawn from many states yesterday pronounced it a flawed, convoluted and unconstitutional education reform initiative that has usurped state and local control of public schools.

(snip)

It said the law's accountability system, which punishes schools whose students fail to improve steadily on standardized tests, undermined school improvement efforts already under way in many states and relied on the wrong indicators. The report said that the law's rules for educating disabled students conflict with another federal law, and that it presented bureaucratic requirements that failed to recognize the tapestry of educational challenges faced by teachers in the nation's 15,000 school districts.

"Under N.C.L.B., the federal government's role has become excessively intrusive in the day-to-day operations of public education," the National Conference of State Legislatures said in the report, which was written by a panel of 16 state legislators and 6 legislative staff members.

complete story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/education/24child.html?

[Demeter]

10. If only that were the limit of the damage

[EFerrari]

11. Yes! The States are saying "NO!"

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Yes but

will it make any difference? I doubt it.

[RamboLiberal]

13. Aaron Brown had a report tonight on this from Utah

Red States are fighting this. Republican lawmakers are fighting this. They showed one school in Provo Utah - Amelia Earhart school which is in the top 20% of the state but is being labeled a failing school because 3 learning disabled students didn't score as high as the fed law thinks they should. The principal there may lose her job because of this stupid law.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. kick

[bear425]

15. I've always preferred to call it...

No Child's Behind is Left.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. And I prefer to call it

No Child Left a Dime.

[atre]

22. Those in education call it "No School Left Behind"

at least from what I've heard in these parts.

[Erika]

17. Fascinating, the GOP thought

All teachers should be judged equally based on student performance according to the GOP elitist attitude. Public shools in a wealthy white neighborhood should be judged the same as teachers in a low income mixed race/language neighborhood for their results. Sure.

[Richard Steele]

18. kick

[Sgent]

19. Although I don't like NCLB

if a school is labed as failing because of a group of three students:

1) The state is forcing this, not NCLB
2) The district is forcing this, not NCLB

NCLB, for what its worth, does not require breakouts if a group makes up less than 6 students.

[rodeodance]

20. NYTimes "Report Faults Bush Initiative on Education"

um.. I like the headline a bit more.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/education/24child.html?th

February 24, 2005
Report Faults Bush Initiative on Education
By SAM DILLON

Concluding a yearlong study on the effectiveness of President Bush's sweeping education law, No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers drawn from many states yesterday pronounced it a flawed, convoluted and unconstitutional education reform initiative that had usurped state and local control of public schools.

The report, based on hearings in six cities, praised the law's goal of ending the gap in scholastic achievement between white and minority students. But most of the 77-page report, which the Education Department rebutted yesterday, was devoted to a detailed inventory and discussion of its flaws.

It said the law's accountability system, which punishes schools whose students fail to improve steadily on standardized tests, undermined school improvement efforts already under way in many states and relied on the wrong indicators. The report said that the law's rules for educating disabled students conflicted with another federal law, and that it presented bureaucratic requirements that failed to recognize the tapestry of educational challenges faced by teachers in the nation's 15,000 school districts.

"Under N.C.L.B., the federal government's role has become excessively intrusive in the day-to-day operations of public education," the National Conference of State Legislatures said in the report, which was written by a panel of 16 state legislators and 6 legislative staff members.

[NVMojo]

21. Panel says `No Child' law left the Constitution behind

Published February 24, 2005


A bipartisan panel of state legislators that conducted a yearlong study of President Bush's No Child Left Behind education law pronounced it flawed on Wednesday.

Further, the panel characterized the law as a convoluted and unconstitutional education reform initiative that has usurped state and local control of public schools.

The panel's report, based on hearings in six cities, praised the law's goal of ending the gap in scholastic achievement between white and minority students. But most of the 77-page report, which the Education Department rebutted Wednesday, was devoted to a detailed inventory and discussion of the education program's flaws.

It said the law's accountability system, which punishes schools whose students fail to improve steadily on standardized tests, undermined school improvement efforts already under way in many states and relied on the wrong indicators. It said, moreover, that the No Child Left Behind rules for educating disabled students conflict with another federal law and its bureaucratic requirements fail to recognize the tapestry of educational challenges faced by teachers in the nation's 15,000 school districts.

"Under NCLB, the federal government's role has become excessively intrusive in the day-to-day operations of public education," the National Conference of State Legislatures said in the report, which was written by a task force of 16 state legislators and six legislative staffers.

Several education experts said the task force had accurately captured the views held by thousands of state lawmakers and local educators.


more...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0502240301feb24,1,3433087.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

[indepat]

23. Is not almost every Administration initiative flawed, convoluted,

unconstitutional or unlawful, or for the benefit of large corporations and other patrons to the detriment of all others?