82 Percent Of US Schools May Be Labeled 'Failing' - No Child Left Behind?

The Dept of Education has been and will always be a dismal failure. The Federal government's attempt to dictate from above, with its obvious liberal bent, cannot and will not beat local administration of schools.

The resident liberal, Arne Duncan says that "the law has done well in shining a light on achievement gaps among minority and low-income students, as well as those who are still learning English". DUH!

Until the Federal government attacks the core problems of minority communities, such as programs that promote single parent families and welfare dependency, minorities will continue to be "left behind". In addition, our illegal immigration problem is placing an onerous burden on local resources.

Union work rules prevent the retention of the best teachers and the firing of the incompetent. Get rid of the public unions.

For those wanting to learn, separate them from the riff raff, give them vouchers or let them attend charter schools. For those that disrupt and have no respect for the rules of civility, establish special schools staffed with "retired Marine Corps drill sergeants" types.

Eliminate the Department of Education, get rid of all the bureaucratic paperwork and let the states and local communities run the schools. They know best.

Excerpt: The number of schools labeled as "failing" under the nation's No Child Left Behind Act could skyrocket dramatically this year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday.

The Department of Education estimates the percentage of schools not meeting yearly targets for their students' proficiency in in math and reading could jump from 37 to 82 percent as states raise standards in attempts to satisfy the law's mandates.

The 2002 law requires states to set targets aimed at having all students proficient in math and reading by 2014, a standard now viewed as wildly unrealistic.

"No Child Left Behind is broken and we need to fix it now," Duncan said in a statement. "This law has created a thousand ways for schools to fail and very few ways to help them succeed."
Duncan presented the figures at a House education and work force committee hearing, in urging lawmakers to rewrite the Bush-era act. Both Republicans and Democrats agree the law needs to be reformed, though they disagree on issues revolving around the federal role of education and how to turn around failing schools.

A surge in schools not meeting annual growth targets could have various implications. The most severe consequences — interventions that could include closure or replacing staff — would be reserved for those schools where students have been failing to improve for several consecutive years.

Duncan said the law has done well in shining a light on achievement gaps among minority and low-income students, as well as those who are still learning English or have disabilities. But he said the law is loose on goals and narrow on how schools achieve them.

Read full AP article here.