Obama Retreats on Education Reform

[tonysam]

A renowned expert in the field of education chastises Obama for what he perceives is his wimping out on public education reform:

But rather than raising standards, the Obama administration is now proposing to gut No Child Left Behind's (NCLB) accountability framework. Enacted in 2002, NCLB requires that every school be held responsible for student achievement. Under the new proposal, up to 90% of schools can escape responsibility. Only 5% of the lowest-performing schools will be required to take action to raise poor test scores. And another 5% will be given a vague "warning" to shape up, but it is not yet clear what will happen if they don't.

Mr. Obama would judge schools not by whether they were meeting reading and math standards, but primarily by a more amorphous standard: whether they are producing "college-ready and career-ready" students. Abandoning current goals for students to reach grade level performance and promising that instead kids will be made "college-ready" is like promising someone they'll be able to run the marathon without first determining if they can run a mile.

Communities already know local graduation rates and, in most instances, how many students go on to college. But these aren't effective metrics for fixing failing schools because by the time a student drops out of high school it is nearly too late to provide him with a quality education. The value of the current accountability regime is that it pinpoints students at risk early in the process.

Teachers unions, which are deeply opposed to measurements and accountability, condemn NCLB for forcing schools to "teach to the test." But what's wrong with measuring a child's ability to learn and gauge whether they have reading and math skills appropriate to their age? "Teaching to the test" means providing students with the underlying skills they need to pass any test. The same is true, by the way, when it comes to the SAT or ACT.

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I haven't had a good laugh in weeks. Rove's no worse than the idiot running the Department of Education.

[Catshrink]

1. This is from Rove?

:rofl:

[tonysam]

4. I didn't want to put his name in the title. I wanted it to be the punch line. n/t

[zipplewrath]

2. blitheringly stupid

"Teaching to the test" means providing students with the underlying skills they need to pass any test. The same is true, by the way, when it comes to the SAT or ACT."

Can he really be that stupid? Teaching to the test means only knowing enough to get a passing grade on the test. There doesn't need to be any real understanding of the topic. I could study enough to pass a bar exam, or even a medical license exam, but no one would actually allow me to practice without a more thorough education.

[tonysam]

3. Consider the source, Karl Rove. n/t

[Blue Owl]

5. I'd believe an education expert like Rove, who doesn't even have a degree

:sarcasm:

[lutefisk]

7. Rove and Duncan- proof that education doesn't matter

One undergraduate degree in sociology between the two of them.

But they are white, male, and know the right people.:)

[Fire1]

6. FFS! WHEN WILL THEY START LISTENING TO THE

PEOPLE ON THE FEONT LINES!!!!! GREAT JESUS IN THE MORNIN!!