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0|0|0|||||NCLB%3A First graders will be left behind-PART II|alexb||12:33:41|02/04/2005|%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%0D%0A From Substance%2C September-December%2C 2004%2C p. 24%2C20.21. Article was %0D%0Atyped from the original article in Substance.%0D%0A------------------------------------------%0D%0ATHIS IS PART II OF TWO PARTS.%0D%0A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%0D%0ASince each state selects a test and sets the definition of what %0D%0Aconstitutes proficiency%2C numbers of failing schools vary widely from %0D%0Astate to state - so widely that failing means very different things %0D%0Ain different states. Last year Alabama reported 4.6 %25 of their public %0D%0Aschools failed to make AYP. But next door in Florida 87.1 %25 failed. %0D%0ACan that really mean that Alabama schools are far better than Florida %0D%0Aschools%3F This year Indiana had 4.1 %25 of schools failing for 2 years %0D%0Aand the District of Columbia had 43.6 %25. If a school is failing for %0D%0Atwo years it is subject to %22corrective action.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AThe law also classifies any school district as failing if one school %0D%0Ain it is failing. In Idaho 11.3%25 of schools have failed for two years %0D%0Abut 38.3 %25 of Idaho%27s school districts are failing. Nationally%2C this %0D%0Ayear almost 20%2C000 schools will be labeled failing one year and %0D%0Aalmost 10%2C000 will be failing for two or more years and are subject %0D%0Ato penalties.%0D%0A%0D%0ABut NCLB is like a mortgage with a balloon payment. States can use an %0D%0Aeasy test or hard one. They can slow down the impact of NCLB or speed %0D%0Ait up. But by 2014%2C in every state%2C all students in all sub groups %0D%0Amust be scoring at the proficient level.%0D%0A%0D%0AThis election year the federal monitors have been lenient a bit in %0D%0Ahow much they pushed the states. But the pressure will be kept up on %0D%0Astates and local districts as these children progress through primary %0D%0Agrades. Because all children in every state must be tested in third %0D%0Agrade it will be to the advantage of schools to fail children in %0D%0Asecond grade who are likely to pull down the test scores as third %0D%0Agraders. Each year the number of children who avoid failing a year %0D%0Awill drop so that by the time they reach middle school an alarming %0D%0Anumber of pupils will have failed at least one year.%0D%0A%0D%0APredictably the toll will be heaviest among the poor%2C children of %0D%0Acolor%2C immigrants and handicapped pupils. These face a double blow %0D%0Aunder the law. They must all take the same test. And they must pass %0D%0Aat the same rate as all other groups in their schools. Studies show %0D%0Athat NCLB punishes diversity. A stated purpose of NCLB is to %0D%0Aeliminate the gaps between the haves and the have nots in our %0D%0Aschools%2C between poor and rich%2C between white and people of color. %0D%0ABut the means to that end is to require all students to pass the same %0D%0Atests at the same high levels. And remember%2C 95%25 of a group must be %0D%0Apresent for the test. If parents choose to keep their kids out of the %0D%0Atest or the school is hit by flu it fails.%0D%0A%0D%0ACurrently many award winning schools are failing because of a single %0D%0Agroup such as the English language learners. Scarsborough%2C New York %0D%0Ais a failing district because 15%25 of parents kept their children home %0D%0Aon test days. Scottsdale%2C Arizona with six percent African American %0D%0Apupils is failing because that one group missed adequate yearly %0D%0Aprogress. A New Hampshire superintendent says that his schools have %0D%0A105 ways to fail on NCLB. That means that pupils in the groups %0D%0Aschools have not served well are more likely to be left behind or %0D%0Apushed out under NCLB. If a school%2C or school district%2C is labeled %0D%0Afailing because of one sub group%2C what will be the tensions that %0D%0Adevelop between that group and the rest of the students%3F%0D%0A%0D%0ABy the time current first graders enter middle school two-thirds will %0D%0Abe entering schools labeled as failing and when%2C and if %2C they reach %0D%0Ahigh school it will be hard to find a school not labeled failing. %0D%0APredictions from California%2C Minnesota and Connecticut are for %0D%0Avirtually all schools to be labeled failing by 2014.%0D%0A%0D%0ARight now%2C around 30%25 of students%2C depending on the state%2C leave %0D%0Aschool without graduating high school. Under the NCLB with many more %0D%0Astudents starting school this year failing at least one grade before %0D%0Athey would enter 10th grade that figure is likely to increase %0D%0Adramatically. Research shows that students who fail a grade are %0D%0Aunlikely to stay in school until graduation. That will be even more %0D%0Alikely in the increasing number of states that will deny a diploma to %0D%0Athose who fail to pass high stakes high school tests. And under NCLB %0D%0Ahigh schools have an incentive to get rid of the students who bring %0D%0Adown their pass rates. Already a scandal has been exposed in Houston %0D%0Ain which over a third of 9th graders left school without graduating %0D%0Abut the school system was reporting no dropouts.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhen these issues have been raised with the ardent advocates of NCLB%2C %0D%0Athey respond that the law contains remedies to help the failing %0D%0Aschools achieve. Parents have the option to have their children %0D%0Atransported to another school from a failing school%2C for example%2C at %0D%0Athe expense of the districts.%0D%0A%0D%0ABut in a city like Chicago%2C with a high number of failing schools%2C %0D%0Athere are few schools to accept transfer students. In New York %0D%0Atransfers have led to severe overcrowding and resulted in more %0D%0Afailing schools. In rural areas there are no alternative schools and %0D%0Ain places like Alaska there may be no practical ways of transporting %0D%0Astudents.%0D%0A%0D%0ALet%27s suppose%2C however%2C that parents choose to have their first %0D%0Agrader transferred to a school which is not failing. That means the %0D%0Achild is leaving the neighborhood. But then if that school becomes a %0D%0Afailing school will the parents again request a transfer%3F So far%2C %0D%0Amost parents have opted to keep their children in their neighborhood %0D%0Aschool.%0D%0A%0D%0AParents of children in failing schools may also request private %0D%0Atutoring. But NCLB does not permit the local school districts to %0D%0Aprovide the tutoring themselves%3B they must contract with approved %0D%0Aprivate providers whose fees range from %2440-80 per hour per pupil. %0D%0AAnd the tutors provided are likely to have less professional training %0D%0Athan the classroom teachers. Furthermore since the help is provided %0D%0Ato those whose parents request it%2C children who need help will not %0D%0Anecessarily get it and students may get it who don%27t need it. Because %0D%0Athe tutoring is off site and often after school many parents choose %0D%0Anot to request it. The Hawaiian department of education is flying %0D%0Atutors from a private company at great expense from Honolulu to the %0D%0Aisland of Molokai where the schools are labeled failing.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnother remedy offered to %22failing schools%22 is that the state sends %0D%0Ain a team to %22help%22 it become more successful. These teams are %0D%0Atrained in the narrow methods and materials the Washington %0D%0Aimplementers are pushing as %22evidence based%2C%22 They become enforcers %0D%0Alimiting the flexibility of the teachers to vary the experiences of %0D%0Alearners using their professional judgment.%0D%0A%0D%0ANCLB has a goal to have %22highly qualified teachers%22 in every %0D%0Aclassroom. But as the law defines that%2C this year%27s first graders are %0D%0Alikely to have fewer teachers with professional education and %0D%0Acertification. Many teachers are taking early retirement for a %0D%0Avariety of reasons. These include restrictions on their ability to %0D%0Ause their professional judgments on behalf of their pupils%2C heavy %0D%0Apaperwork involved in NCLB and unwillingness to use methods and %0D%0Amaterials they don%27t agree with. These teachers are often replaced %0D%0Awith teachers certified through alternative routes with little %0D%0Aprofessional education. The Bush administration has set a procedure %0D%0Afor national certification through passing tests with no professional %0D%0Aeducation course work.%0D%0A%0D%0AElementary heritage language programs in native communities are %0D%0Adisappearing because the law requires that teacher aides have two %0D%0Ayear college degrees. In many rural communities%2C those currently %0D%0Aworking as aides will lose their jobs adding to the high unemployment %0D%0Arates.%0D%0ANCLB requires secondary teachers to have degrees in the subjects they %0D%0Ateach. But most middle school teachers are generalists who teach more %0D%0Athan one subject. So when these first graders reach middle school %0D%0Athey will be finding highly experienced teachers replaced with %0D%0Ateachers who can only teach one subject such as history%2C or chemistry.%0D%0A%0D%0ASmall high schools in rural areas are being told that the common %0D%0Apractice of having one teacher teach all the science courses is %0D%0Aunacceptable. If the chemistry teacher is going to teach biology then %0D%0Ahe or she must take an examination or an additional degree to be %0D%0Aconsidered qualified.%0D%0A%0D%0AIf parents are worried about what the future holds for their kids %0D%0Aonce they leave school%2C NCLB has an answer for that too. The law %0D%0Arequires school officials to provide the names and addresses of all %0D%0Aschool leavers to the Defense Department which will be happy to %0D%0Aprovide employment opportunities.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt should be clear that NCLB would be better called %22No child left %0D%0AUnscarred.%22 It is a law that can not succeed in its stated goal of %0D%0Abringing all children to proficiency. If the law was designed to make %0D%0Apublic schools look like failures then in fact it is likely to %0D%0Asucceed. But then what would American education become%3F It would %0D%0Abecome a system much like that in many third world countries. %0D%0AChildren of the wealthy would be in private schools. Middle class %0D%0Aparents would buy the best education they can afford for their kids %0D%0Awith most priced out of the prestige schools. A small number of high %0D%0Aachievers would make it through because business needs them to be the %0D%0Atechnicians%2C engineers and scientists. And the public schools that %0D%0Aare left would serve the working poor providing a pool of cheap labor %0D%0Afor business%2C industry and the military.%0D%0A%0D%0AScrooge asks the Ghost of Christmas yet to come if the terrible %0D%0Ascenes he is shown are what must be or whether he has the power to %0D%0Achange them. All that I have predicted are the inevitable results of %0D%0Athe NCLB law as it is currently written and enforced. NCLB is the %0D%0Aproduct of politicians. Under pressure from parents and other voters%2C %0D%0Aall or some of it can be changed by the politicians that enacted the %0D%0Alaw. The only way to avoid or limit its impact on our children and %0D%0Ayoung people is also political. It is discouraging that in an %0D%0Aelection year neither party or their candidates are indicating they %0D%0Awill make any changes in the law itself or any long term changes in %0D%0Aits enforcement.%0D%0A%0D%0AAt some point this punitive law will implode on itself as it affects %0D%0Amore and more children and more and more families. If parents join to %0D%0Asupport teachers%2C administrators and school boards in resisting NCLB %0D%0Amuch of its potential effects can be avoided. But if it takes too %0D%0Along for the resistance to become effective%2C the damage to public %0D%0Aeducation in the United States may be catastrophic.%0D%0A----------------------------------%0D%0ANCLB %27Bottom Line%27 boomerangs against Chicago%27s teacher bashers%0D%0A%0D%0ABy George N. Schmidt%0D%0A%0D%0ADespite the fact that many of the most punitive mandates now in %22No %0D%0AChild Left Behind%22 have been field tested in Chicago since the %0D%0Acorporate version of %22school reform%22 began in 1995 with the mayoral %0D%0Atakeover of the public schools%2C those who bash teachers using a %0D%0Afatuous %22bottom line%22 based on biased standardized test scores are %0D%0Aget caught in the same statistical traps they use against others.%0D%0A%0D%0AOn December 9%2C the Chicago Board of Education%27s communications %0D%0Adepartment convened a hastily assembled press briefing after federal %0D%0Aofficials announced that Chicago would not be allowed to use city %0D%0Ateachers to tutor %22failing%22 children under No Child Left Behind since %0D%0AChicago is a %22failing district.%22 A district that has %27failed%27 must %0D%0Ahire private companies to do it.%0D%0A%0D%0ADuncan %5BCEO of Chicago schools%29 routinely bashes teachers and schools %0D%0Afor failing to meet impossible %22bottom line%22 goals. He failed to %0D%0Arealize that the privatization agenda he supports in many cases is %0D%0Aultimately aimed at his staff as well. Tutoring and transfers are %0D%0Ajust the beginning.%0D%0A------------------------------%0D%0ATHIS IS PART II OF TWO PARTS - THE END.%0D%0A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A%0D%0A