"No Child" Leaves Us All Behind

The US spends more per high school student than any other industrialized country

Bush’s 2001 “No Child Left Behind” policy was inspired by some bleak numbers:
− Nationally two-thirds of all teenagers graduate from high school
− 50 % of Black and Hispanic teens graduate from high school

Who’s Benefiting, Who Isn’t
The policy was meant to introduce national standards to an education system that was failing large portions of our children. A recent Harvard study, which was produced by their Civil Rights Project, finds the Bush “No Child” policy has in many cases benefited white middle-class children over blacks and other minorities in poorer regions. The study found that political compromises between some states and the federal government have enabled schools in predominately white districts to escape penalties faced by regions with larger ethnic minority populations.

The Effect
The policy has allowed many states to negotiate treaties and bargains to reduce the number of schools and districts identified as failing.

"There's a very uneven effect. There are no clear uniform standards that are governing No Child Left Behind. If one state gets one thing, another state can do something else.”

-- Gail Sunderman, the study's lead author

The law states children in poorly performing schools can switch schools if space is available and in extreme cases, schools can be closed. But a surge in the number of schools identified as "needing improvement," including many considered top performers in their state, has stirred opposition to the law nationwide -- from a legal challenge in Connecticut to a rebellion by state legislators in staunchly Republican Utah.

The Fallout
Forty-nine states have taken some action to amend the law or been granted waivers to provisions in No Child Left Behind, the study said.

"The problem with this approach is that it does not affect all schools equally,"

said Sunderman.

"No two states are now subject to the same requirements. The policy is essentially a product of negotiation, of power and discretion, not law."
- Gary Orfield, director of Harvard's Civil Rights Project

What’s Being Done about It?
Last Tuesday a bipartisan commission was announced in Washington to take a “hard, independent look” at the law’s problems and promises, and then make recommendations to Congress before the law’s expected renewal in 2007.

Chad Colby, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education, called the Harvard study "misinformed" and "flawed".

"We leave it up to the states to determine how they are going to get there. It's exactly the opposite of one-size-fits-all."

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has said the law works, citing data showing reading scores for 9-year-olds up more over the last five years than between 1971 and 1999, though some dispute whether this reflects the policy. Spelling has said states critical of the law simply fear the results.

This news hit the press with barely a whimper last week, I wonder what more important news will be dominating our headlines in 2007 when the law is up for renewal.