No Child Left Behind Ignores Low Scoring Minorities (redo)


The law allows states to ignore the test scores of certain minorities
I've said before I'm no fan of racial categories.

Apparently state governments ignore certain groups when it threatens the purse strings. The Associated Press has more.

An Associated Press computer analysis has found Laquanya is among nearly 2 million children whose scores aren't counted when it comes to meeting the law's requirement that schools track how students of different races perform on standardized tests.

The AP found that states are helping public schools escape potential penalties by skirting that requirement. And minorities — who historically haven't fared as well as whites in testing — make up the vast majority of students whose scores are excluded.

The Education Department said that while it is pleased that nearly 25 million students nationwide are now being tested regularly under the law, it is concerned that the AP found so many students aren't being counted by schools in the required racial categories.

"Is it too many? You bet," Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in an interview. "Are there things we need to do to look at that, batten down the hatches, make sure those kids are part of the system? You bet."

The plight of the two second-graders shows how a loophole in the law is allowing schools to count fewer minorities in required racial categories.

Everyone remember how this program was sold to the public?

It was supposed to prevent differences because of economic and social conditions.

Why is it making the problem worse?

Additional Technorati Tag
public education failure

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - April 18, 2006 at 04:28 AM  Tag


 ◊  ◊   ◊  ◊ 

Random selections from NeoWayland's library


Pagan Vigil "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black or white"
© 2005 - 2009 All Rights Reserved