Was This The Plan All Along?

Negative Implications Of No Child Left Behind: As Graduation Rates Go Down, School Ratings Go Up

A new study by researchers at Rice University and the University
of Texas-Austin finds that Texas' public school accountability system,
the model for the national No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), directly
contributes to lower graduation rates. Each year Texas public high schools
lose at least 135,000 youth prior to graduation -- a disproportionate number
of whom are African-American, Latino and English-as-a-second-language (ESL)
students.

By analyzing data from more than 271,000 students, the study found that
60 percent of African-American students, 75 percent of Latino students and
80 percent of ESL students did not graduate within five years. The
researchers found an overall graduation rate of only 33 percent.

"High-stakes, test-based accountability doesn't lead to school
improvement or equitable educational possibilities," said Linda McSpadden
McNeil, director of the Center for Education at Rice University. "It leads
to avoidable losses of students. Inherently the system creates a dilemma
for principals: comply or educate. Unfortunately we found that compliance
means losing students."

The study shows as schools came under the accountability system, which
uses student test scores to rate schools and reward or discipline
principals, massive numbers of students left the school system. The exit
of low-achieving students created the appearance of rising test scores and of
a narrowing of the achievement gap between white and minority students,
thus increasing the schools' ratings.

The Bushes have always believe we need a clear separation between the
working classes and the upper classes. And this result is what you get when
you take an unproven concept(high stakes testing) that was being pushed in
two the worst state(education wise, Florida & Texas) and move the entire
nation to this process with no proof it works. Typical GOP process, instead
of looking at the states with great educations (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin &
New Hampshire) and seeing was working in those state and emulating it
nationwide, let's take an unproven concept, underfund it and declare it will
solve all our education woes.