trusting Ed Trust

["Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>]

In the past few days, Ed Trust has somewhat successfully pulled off another publicity stunt to promote NCLB. This one was obtaining signatures from 100 African American and Latino "superintendents and civic leaders." In the press release, ET's Katie Haycock refers to a battle for the soul of education and says: Too often, the critics imply that students from low-income families and students of color simply cannot be expected to be taught to high levels.  We kept hearing from educators whose experiences have taught them otherwise that these insidious messages could not go unchallenged, so we promised to find a way to help them share their voices with the nation," stated Haycock.

Then ET's Stephanie Robinson is quoted as saying: 
"The politicians and talking heads of the education establishment in Washington need to understand that this law is actually helping to get public education more focused on raising achievement for all students and on closing achievement gaps between groups."

Ms Robinson obviously chooses to ignore the veritable flood of criticism from classroom teachers, principals, and parents condemning the destructive consequences of the law. 
Now, aside from the headline, look at the actual language of the letter signed by the 100, pasted in below. It lacks the inflammatory rhetoric. It focuses on 3 things: money (criticizing the inadequate funding of NCLB); reporting by different groups; and accountability expectations. We agree with the first two - provided the second is not reduced to standardized test scores. That leaves accountability. We think the specific modes of accountability are quite destructive. The question is, however, whether any number of these signators would approve of different structures of accountability that are not reduced to test and punish. Who knows, we could not tell from this letter. 

Lastly, it appears that Haycock et al are getting more desperate as they concoct grand rhetoric out of rather a mild letter. Perhaps they could not get signers to their wild exagerations in support of NCLB.

(I did not pasted in the signators; go to www.edtrust.org and the press release and letter are at the top of their home page).

Monty
DON'T TURN BACK THE CLOCK!

NCLB: Not Perfect but Hugely Important

The No Child Left Behind Act, enacted by an overwhelming bipartisan

vote last year, isn't perfect. No law ever is. But it is a huge step forward in

the movement toward full participation in American democracy.

Like other steps before it-including Brown vs. Board of Education and the

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-NCLB might justifiably be labeled as a

mandate not "fully funded." But just as we then didn't use insufficient funding as an

excuse to maintain legally segregated schools or to exile disabled students from

public school classrooms, we must not use funding to escape our responsibilities

now.

We, the undersigned, call on Congress and the White House to step up to their

responsibilities and appropriate the funding that will help schools achieve the goals

of NCLB.

In the meantime, however, we strongly oppose the effort to roll back the

accountability provisions of the law-including, ironically, the provisions that provide

extra funding for low-performing schools and extra tutoring for low-performing

students. This effort is a thinly veiled attempt to turn back the clock to a time when

schools-particularly in suburban communities-could coast comfortably on the

performance of a handful of high-performing students and hide serious problems

behind misleading averages.

Because of No Child Left Behind, this year for the first time ever, every American

community will have information about the achievement of low-income and minority

students in every school. Where large problems are plainly evident, schools,

districts, and states must take steps to improve.

We support No Child Left Behind's important message that "good schools" are good

for all kinds of students, not just some. Rolling back any part of the requirement to

know more and do more about the large achievement gaps that have long blighted

American education sends the wrong message and simply cannot be an option.

We recognize that the goal of educating all students presents a tremendous

challenge. We believe that American public education is up to the task.

We add our voices to those who have stepped up to the challenge.

Monty Neill, Ed.D.
Executive Director
FairTest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-4810    fax 617-497-2224
monty@fairtest.org
http://www.fairtest.org