A New Era

Schools across America now have entered a new era. After four years of a stalled debate over renewing the No Child Left Behind Act, the Obama administration has set sail from the accountability law.

The president announced last week that 10 states no longer will be bound by some provisions of the bipartisan measure that was passed under President George W. Bush in 2001. Look for more states to join them.

Will this new course work? We better hope it does.

The school accountability movement started about 20 years ago because of a growing concern among civil rights leaders and business executives that campuses were leaving behind poor and minority students. If we retreat from the movement’s driving force, which resulted in No Child, poor minority kids one day will wonder why the rest of us abandoned them.

But here we are, so what’s the best way to look at the administration’s moves?

Let’s start with the positives: The White House isn’t fully cutting loose those 10 states. They still must test their students. They must show whether the students are on a path that prepares them for college or a good career. And they must come up with better ways to evaluate teachers and principals.

Photo Description: Two turkey vultures sitting atop a utility pole next to an osprey's nest are driven away by an unexpected visit. School districts must come up with improved ways to evaluate teachers and principals. Not just drive them out!

News Update on States pulling Out

Just a note to update the latest on this Act that remains so unpopular. At least 27 states have already told the administration they’re opting out, and most of the rest are still considering it, MSNBC reports. To earn a waiver states must adopt higher standards in some areas than the law requires, but most have already done so. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he’s actively encouraging states to opt out. “It’s far too punitive, far too prescriptive,” he explained. It “led to a narrowing of the curriculum. None of those things are good for children.” In a sign of just how unpopular the 2002 law is, few critics of Obama’s move to kill it have emerged; in a January poll, 53% said No Child needed “major revisions,” while another 21% wanted it eliminated entirely.

Note the words: punitive, prescriptive, narrowing of the curriculum. None of these are good for the children. Well, what else is new? When is there to be something solid for the good of the children?

They just turned and walked away and accepted the waiver of adopting higher standards (much the way these wild turkeys did when they realized that I was intruding with a camera).