You go away for a week and all sorts of things happen. For instance:
The NEA announces a new effort to close the achievement gap, notably lacking in particulars, at the same time the NEA president says that No Child Left Behind is “forcing states to spend money they don’t have on tests they don’t need, for results that don’t matter.” Well, it surely would be easier to close the achievement gap if we decide that reading and math don’t matter.
Bruce Reed starts an outstanding blog at Slate. Today it has everything you need to know about the SCOTUS situation plus plenty of Orwell.
And, the NYT runs another story about NCLB funding shifts as a result of better targeting of federal dollars to poor students. It’s absolutely atrocious for its lack of context. This Week’s Alex Russo does a nice job explaining why. Just a thought, but this seems like a dubious strategy for increasing funding for Title I overall or getting more money where poor kids are concentrated.
Today in the Times this piece by new Fordham Foundation star Mike Petrilli takes a hard hit at Earth Mother arguing that NCLB’s real promise is in the leafy suburbs. Worth reading for its substance and some interesting Kremlin politics. Fordham is the Paige regime in exile after all…