In Governing Alan Greenblatt takes a look at state level politics and policy around No Child Left Behind. Also, No Child Left Behind data from NYC. Punchline: Sky not falling there either.
But, no matter! Surely it must be falling somewhere…Thank goodness the New York Times will not rest until we know where! The result: Big Sunday NYT story on the conflict between state and federal school rating systems.
Sorry Republicans, the NYT bias is not a liberal one. A liberal bias might mean, for instance, clearly pointing out that previous state accountability systems (including North Carolina’s, which is featured in the story) didn’t hold schools explicitly accountable for the progress of poor and minority students and explaining why the new law does so. Instead, this article only gets at that indirectly and in a confusing way while focusing a lot on overall averages at various schools and disabled students. Readers left baffled? Probably.
Best line of the story:
When she met with four other Hinsdale South mothers to discuss the problem, she wondered aloud whether colleges would now look down on Hinsdale South applicants. And a friend, Donna Siefer, voiced another worry: How would real estate agents finesse the bad news to potential home buyers? That rang bells for Diane Bolos, president of a Hinsdale South fund-raising group.
“Yeah, did Congress consider what labeling a school would do to property values?” Mrs. Bolos asked.
There was a time when Timesmen would be outraged by such naked self-interest at the expense of the disadvantaged. Comforting the afflicted? Whatever…
Update: MO has more and channels Hirschman cum Chubb and Moe…NCLB foes, beware…
Elsewhere, Wash Post takes another look at the DC voucher program. Gadfly and DC Education Blog both point out that most analysis at this point is pretty subjective.
Neall Pierce weighs in on the charter flap here. And AP dissects an emotional education controversy here.
Mr. Sun, a hilarious blog you should be reading if you’re not, makes a foray into education reform.