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    Jolie Rouge's Avatar
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    Question Your Opinion : No Child Left Behind

    Our view on education:
    Five ways to improve No Child Left Behind

    Fri Sep 7, 12:22 AM ET[/i]

    The 5-year-old No Child Left Behind law is up for renewal this month, and its fate is uncertain despite notable success.

    President Bush's signature domestic achievement has brought accountability to school districts that for decades shamefully buried their failures in grossly understated dropout rates and vastly overstated academic achievement. Scores of inner-city schools have improved dramatically.

    But the law is under fire from the left (teachers' unions dislike its rigidity), from the right (conservatives dislike federal meddling in local education) and from critics across the spectrum who dislike the annual testing designed to ensure that all students are learning.

    The law does have flaws. Too many schools, for instance, are ensnared in its needs-improvement lists. The appropriate response, however, isn't to scrap the whole act or to water down its emphasis on reading and math. Here are five ways to improve NCLB without undermining its promise:

    * Provide new options for students in failing schools. The current choices for children trapped in faltering schools — free tutoring and the opportunity to transfer — are nearly useless. The quality of free tutoring has proven to be erratic. And in cities such as Cleveland or Washington, what good is a transfer option if no high-performing schools are available nearby? What would work is the opportunity to transfer across school district lines from a persistently failing school to a successful school in a neighboring district.


    * Make sure good teachers stay in schools that need help. Many districts allow their toughest schools to be staffed by the newest, lowest paid teachers and let more experienced teachers transfer to better schools. One way to reverse that would be to demand that federal dollars set aside for poor children actually get spent on those children. That means offering substantial bonuses to teach in struggling schools and exposing the fatter payrolls in better-off schools.


    * Get serious about turning around failing schools. Schools that fail to make adequate progress for more than five straight years — there are about 1,300 of them nationally — are allowed to spin their wheels while making only cosmetic changes. Fixing those schools requires states (with federal help) to develop school turnaround teams of administrators and teachers that move into troubled schools until they are fixed.


    * Allow schools to trade time for quality. The law says all students need to be at grade level by 2014. That's an admirable goal, but it has all the reality of Lake Wobegon, Garrison Keillor's fictional town where all the children are above average. Since pushing back the goal is inevitable, it should be possible to win some trade-offs in the process. States such as Mississippi, which set embarrassingly low standards, could be given extra time in return for raising them.


    * Narrow the hit list. By naming thousands of schools to need-improvement lists rather than hundreds, the law has been more righteous than popular. To survive, it needs broader support. Schools that are generally OK deserve flexibility. They especially need to stay off any list that allows them to be carelessly labeled as failing schools.


    By testing everyone, and breaking out the scores by race and income levels, No Child Left Behind has revealed unacceptable gaps in the ways children in the USA are educated. Whether it can close those gaps is yet to be determined. This much is sure: The answer will never be known if the law is snuffed out before the age of 6.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/200...Gkhwe4eZWs0NUE




    Opposing view
    NCLB fails our schools

    Fri Sep 7, 12:21 AM ET
    By Bill Richardson[/i]


    I have a one-point plan for No Child Left Behind: Scrap it.


    NCLB has failed. It has failed our schools, it has failed our teachers and it has failed our children.


    The Bush administration claims victories, but upon closer scrutiny it becomes clear that the White House is simply dressing up ugly data with fancy political spin. Far from leaving no child behind, President Bush seems to have left reality behind.


    Just look at the facts. The National Assessment of Educational Progress shows a slight narrowing of the racial achievement gap over the past three years. This narrowing, however, is due to a decline in overall reading scores, not to improvements in minority student performance.


    This is not progress.


    Review the figures, and you will see that our schools are not failing NCLB; the program is failing our schools. In some grades, reading and math scores have actually declined for Hispanics, African-Americans and others. The current pass-fail rating system is worse than meaningless — it's counter-productive. If a school needs help, we should help that school. We shouldn't punish it, as NCLB mandates.


    We need to move beyond the empty rhetoric of No Child Left Behind. We must provide our public schools with what the National Education Association refers to as the three R's — Responsibility, Respect and Resources.


    The key to this improvement is respecting teachers. I signed a law in New Mexico that pays teachers a professional salary. As president, I will fight for national average starting pay for teachers of at least $40,000 a year.


    Teacher salaries are just the beginning. Quality pre-K programs allow children to show up in first grade ready to learn. These programs must be available to all children.


    Finally, we need strong academic standards aligned with the needs of today's workforce. America's schools were designed for the 20th century economy — this is no longer sufficient. Our children need to graduate ready to engage with the New Economy, not the old one.


    True education reform requires more than a set of unfunded mandates and a list of failing schools. It requires a vision for success, the state and federal funding to match, and the experience to bring real reform to America's failing schools.


    Bill Richardson is the governor of New Mexico. He is seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for president.


    http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/200...PR4lRMXxv8B2YD
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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    Jolie Rouge's Avatar
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    Just look at the facts. The National Assessment of Educational Progress shows a slight narrowing of the racial achievement gap over the past three years.
    source : http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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    Maybe the gap is due to the fact that the schools that were failing before the program are still failing. I know they are here in Memphis. One of our charter schools was closed because it failed once again. I am not sure who to put the blame on for that, the school itself or the type of students that go to it. The students that go to these schools are students that were failing in normal schools and classes. Of course with a name like, YO Memphis, what else can you expect?
    It is the Right of the People to Alter or Abolish Government

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    TN girl I am so ripping this for my avatar.
    **** The views and opinions stated by kids=stress are simply that. Views and opinions. They are not meant to slam anyone else or their views.To anyone whom I may have offended by this expression of my humble opinion, I hereby recognized and appologized to you publically.

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    tngirl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stresseater View Post
    TN girl I am so ripping this for my avatar.
    Just a bunch of thieves around here
    It is the Right of the People to Alter or Abolish Government

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    so where exactly do they put the grades of the kids who can't learn??? I mean here in our tiny town we have a child that is unable to learn. I dont know how they explain it in tech terms but basically he has the right side of his brain and he also has the left side of his brain but whatever is supposed to be in the middle to connect the two isnt not there. He is forever stuck at about 3 month age level yet thanx to NCLB he is now in 8th grade.........how does that work? I just think it is stupid to have to buy a new little bus for this kid, hire a full time nurse to sit with him which doesnt seem to work since he came home with a broken leg one day and nobody even knew it till his mom told them (which btw took her less than 5 minutes to figure out) and some how he gets passed all the way up to 8th grade but if my kids were to fail they would be held back
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    Quote Originally Posted by PrincessArky View Post
    so where exactly do they put the grades of the kids who can't learn??? I mean here in our tiny town we have a child that is unable to learn. I dont know how they explain it in tech terms but basically he has the right side of his brain and he also has the left side of his brain but whatever is supposed to be in the middle to connect the two isnt not there. He is forever stuck at about 3 month age level yet thanx to NCLB he is now in 8th grade.........how does that work? I just think it is stupid to have to buy a new little bus for this kid, hire a full time nurse to sit with him which doesnt seem to work since he came home with a broken leg one day and nobody even knew it till his mom told them (which btw took her less than 5 minutes to figure out) and some how he gets passed all the way up to 8th grade but if my kids were to fail they would be held back
    The nurse and bus ect has to be provided before the no child left behind act but how he fits into that is his test results are put in the "pool" of numbers just like everyone else, therefore the test results will be lower than what they should be for the district. Thats why the NCLB is not a good idea, well one of the reasons.

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    PrincessArky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freeby4me View Post
    The nurse and bus ect has to be provided before the no child left behind act but how he fits into that is his test results are put in the "pool" of numbers just like everyone else, therefore the test results will be lower than what they should be for the district. Thats why the NCLB is not a good idea, well one of the reasons.

    so basically his zero test scores cancel out my daughters top 97% scores? Gosh the more I hear the more I don't like this
    Mom I miss you already
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    Quote Originally Posted by PrincessArky View Post
    so basically his zero test scores cancel out my daughters top 97% scores? Gosh the more I hear the more I don't like this
    Not so much cancelling them out but yes it does lower it. Thats what I dont like about it, children like this should be tested seperately.

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    No child left behind

    Great in theory but.... many things are not taken into account. Where I live we have large hispanic, arab and polish communities. Most do not speak english. This lowers the scores overall. How do you expect non- english speaking students to do well on these tests. Not placing blame but the hispanic community has no reason to learn english since everything is in spanish for them. It has been a struggle but luckily our high school does well because of the Honors and AP kids and that most of the students are at C or better this somewhat negates the non speaking scores. If you really want a no child left behind program than put money into it to help parents and hold them accountable when Juan still after being here 15 years cannot speak english while the polish kid does very well after 5 months. Want the schools to do better then hold the educators accountable. When the teacher cannot pass the test that are required of her students then why is she/he teaching. The way a person gets a teaching cert. has changed because of the NCLB Act, which is good. Let's also so NO to teacher union contracts that allow teachers who sexually assualt our kids to remain employed and collecting paychecks. The teachers union is very strong but has gotten away from doing what is best for educatiors and our students to being ridiculous and all for allowing crappy teachers to stay in the classroom. All crimes committed within 1000 feet of school property or while children are on their way to or from school even if it does not involve students should be an automatic felony. This will help keep the criminal element away from our kids during school hours. You can be traumatized witnessing a crime. Make the parents and teachers and Principals hold our kids to a higher standard. If Johnny does not know his ABCs and 1,2,3s by first grade the problem is at home. Make a visit. See what's up. If we expect more and do more our kids will give us more.

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    Jolie Rouge's Avatar
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    Our view on education:
    Merit pay for teachers begins to earn high grades

    Thu Sep 13, 12:22 AM ET

    Three years ago, teachers and other employees at Meadowcliff Elementary in southwest Little Rock were offered pay bonuses for boosting test scores. Shortly after that, principal Karen Carter noticed some unusual events.

    Increasingly, cafeteria workers sat with students to chat about school work. Even more startling, the janitor began taking his breaks in the cafeteria reading a book, just to serve as a role model.

    And when test scores arrived at the end of the year showing improvement, Carter heard whoops of joy from teachers whose bonuses would help pay off their college bills. The better each of their students did, the bigger their bonuses. The janitor and other support staff were rewarded for the school's overall gains.

    Such is the power of "merit pay," a concept long opposed by teachers and their unions.

    In many ways, their concern is understandable. Who wants a merit-pay system if principals prone to playing favorites hand out the bonuses? Moreover, how do you separate what Mrs. Jones does in one classroom with what Mr. Smith does next door?

    But times have changed. Testing is more sophisticated, and most states have learning standards to complement the testing.

    What has changed most are public attitudes. That was heard clearly in 2005, when Denver voters approved a $25 million-a-year tax hike to pay teachers. Voters agreed to raise their own taxes. The catch: Pay boosts were to be based on merit.

    The voter sentiment in Denver has proved contagious; other merit pay experiments have broken out in Tennessee, Florida and elsewhere. Many teachers embrace the idea, aware that this is the only way to push teachers' salaries back into the respectable range.

    Oddly, there's one group dragging its heels here, the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers' union. Earlier this week, NEA President Reg Weaver clashed loudly with Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House education committee, about Miller's federally sponsored merit-pay proposal.

    Objecting to merit pay today amounts to opposing a proven tool for making teachers more effective.

    Some of the best research on this movement is likely to emerge from Vanderbilt University's new federally sponsored National Center on Performance Incentives. There, researchers set up medical-style control groups of teachers to answer the question: Does merit pay boost student performance?

    The center's director, Matthew Springer, offers good advice to schools setting up merit pay programs, such as making the incentives lucrative. (At Meadowcliff, where a private funder backed the experiment, teachers received bonuses ranging from $1,100 to $5,100 this year, depending on individual test score gains. Support staffers got from $500 to $2,000.)

    Another key element is that teachers believe that the system is fair. In Denver, the program gave teachers several pathways to winning bonuses.

    Can it work?

    At Meadowcliff, a poor urban school, tests scores rose about seven percentage points compared with similar schools lacking merit pay, says University of Arkansas professor Gary Ritter. Though it's too soon to tell whether the gains can be sustained over time, it's not too soon to declare that merit pay has earned a chance to succeed.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/200...3MWN.rwGKs0NUE



    Opposing view:
    Reject federal pay mandates
    Thu Sep 13, 12:21 AM ET
    By Reg Weaver


    The No Child Left Behind Act expires this year, and the National Education Association has proposed positive changes in the law. These include expanding early childhood education, smaller classes and extra help for children who need it. But these priorities have been overshadowed by a proposed federal mandate that would base teacher pay on student test scores.

    Districts in dozens of states are experimenting with plans that compensate teachers partly based on test results. Local teachers unions have helped create such programs in Denver, Minneapolis and Columbus, Ohio.

    What sets these plans apart from the draft language released from the House Education and Labor Committee is that each of them was negotiated and agreed to at the local level. At a time when parents, state legislatures and many others are questioning the No Child Left Behind Act's obsessive focus on high-stakes testing, it would be a mistake to raise the stakes on standardized tests even higher and discourage good teachers from working in schools with high numbers of struggling students.

    If we truly want to improve the quality of teachers in the classroom through compensation, let's pay teachers for the knowledge and skills they gain, provide incentives to teach in hard-to-staff schools, and offer salaries competitive with other professions that require a college degree.

    In a 2006 MetLife survey, one in four teachers who plan to leave their jobs within the next five years cited low salaries and a lack of control over their own work for their decision. They also reported being frustrated by principals who did not ask for their suggestions and did not treat them with respect.

    Federal mandates that tie compensation to test scores can't substitute for a working environment high on trust and meaningful work. And it can't replace a perverse pay scale where teacher wages have fallen 12% since 1993 compared with workers with similar education and skills.

    We should invest precious federal dollars in giving all teachers competitive salaries, quality professional development and better working conditions. Too often, it is simpler to tinker with bonuses than to exercise the political will necessary to reform teacher quality at its core.


    Reg Weaver is president of the National Education Association.


    http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/200...QcEEoiPlX8B2YD
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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