So another anti-No Child Left Behind lawsuit fizzles…The judge’s opinion is here (pdf). Big win for the Connecticut chapter of the NAACP and the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights. I must have crummy news judgment because it seemed to me that civil rights groups siding with the Bush Administration to fight attempts to weaken the No Child law was, you know, interesting and counterintuitive. But it got very little attention.
Meanwhile, though he’s breathlessly covered the various lawsuits on several occasions before now, in the wake of this decision we just get radio silence from Timesman Sam Dillon…too sad to write?
What once seemed a crazy prediction, — that the lawsuits and state rebellions would add up to nothing — now seems pretty spot on.
What’s a states’ rights progressive to do?
Update: He gets knocked down, but he gets up again! You’re never going to keep him down! Two days after the ruling, Sam’s back in the saddle! He’s still hopeful that the other lawsuit will pan out. But, the odds there look long, too.
NCLB will be around until teachers and principals revolt! I just blogged about how crazy K-12 educators have become during Spring Testing Madness- and how they are turning to parents in desperation. Only the people dealing with NCLB on a daily basis can appreciate how horrible and limiting it really is.
There are definitely cross purposes and two minds about NCLB when it comes to how it helps or hurts poor and minority children. While scores may be up in certain zones, dropout rates seem to be on the increase. This is intuitive and backed by research showing that as standards rise – say Core 40 in Indiana – dropouts increase.
Yet, from a teaching perspective, NCLB is a disaster because of it’s lack of flexibility, its militaristic sequences and testing mandates. Does this “work” for increasing achievement outcomes for traditionally underperforming schools?
The Citizens Commission on Civil Rights seems to think so, and, less my ignorance, I’m wondering if this Commission is a new player in the arena, where they came from, and what their future is. They just teamed up with Kati Haycock at Ed Trust and La Rasa and others to promote continued and more rigorous standards – an obvious nudge to NCLB. Any clarity on the power or not of the Citizens Commission would be insightful and appreciated.
Dropout rates are too high, but are not rising.
CCCR founded in the 1980s. Visit the website.