how to fix no child left behind - time

how to fix no child left behind - time time.com cnn.com search archive home u.s. the page main politics swampland real clear politics white house photo blog world main the china blog the middle east blog blogs main the ag swampland tuned in curious capitalist real clear politics work in progress looking around the middle east blog nerdworld the china blog white house photo blog eye on science business & tech main work in progress curious capitalist nerdworld health & science main eye on science global warming science of appetite entertainment main tuned in looking around all time 100 lists style & design multimedia photos graphics podcasts video magazine table of contents archive covers 10 questions specials main person of the year pictures of the year best websites worst cars katrina anniversary national service crimes of the century cartoons of the week pictures of the week how to fix no child left behind thursday, may. 24, 2007 by claudia wallis, sonja steptoe enlarge photo left to right, third grade student, phillip armstrong, teacher, mr. kennard branch, and student, william givens take part in math explorations during class at m. hall stanton school in philadelphia, pa. in march of 2007. alex tehrani for time article tools print email reprints sphere rss it's countdown time in philadelphia's public schools. just 21 days remain before the state reading and math tests in march, and the kids and faculty at james g. blaine elementary, an all-black, inner-city school that spans pre-k to eighth grade, have been drilling for much of the day. at 2:45 in the afternoon, rasheed abdullah, the kinetic lead math teacher, stages what could be called a prep rally with 11 third-graders. the kids, who are at neither the top nor the bottom of their class, have been selected for intensive review--as has a contingent from other grades--because their test scores hold the key to putting the school over the top on the pivotal pennsylvania system of school assessments (pssas). last year, after a history of failure, the school, under new leadership, managed to meet the federal goal for adequate yearly progress (ayp) on the state tests for the first time. if it does so again, blaine moves off the dreaded list of failing schools, no longer a target for intensive oversight and sanctions that could include replacing the staff. related articles how to bring our schools out of the 20th century the world has changed, but the american classroom, for the most part, hasn't. now educators are starting to look at what must be done to make sure our kids make the grade in the new global economy the myth about homework think hours of slogging are helping your child make the grade? think again graphic: how do children in your state test? federal law demands testing for reading and math, but leaves it up to the states to make the tests. critics say this leads to grade inflation. are the tests in your state too easy? abdullah, who has an easy rapport with students, issues a quick reminder to sign up for "super saturday" review classes and then begins his math-athon with a rousing recitation of the school's declaration of education. "we believe that we can learn at high levels," the children chant. "we believe we can reach our learning potential ... we believe that blaine will become a high-performing institution." quite a mouthful for an 8-year-old. and there's more. abdullah starts pumping his fists as the kids finish with passionate vows. "i'll never give up!" he shouts. "i'll never give up!" they echo. "even on the pssa test!" "even on the pssa test!" "'cause winners never lose, and i am the best!" for the next 15 minutes, the kids, divided into teams, compete to win points by solving math problems, with abdullah acting as a combination game-show host and math coach. there are giggles and cheers and plenty of correct answers, but everyone in the room knows the fate of the school is at stake. to understand the impact of the 2001 elementary and secondary education act, indelibly rebranded as no child left behind (nclb), you need to visit a school like blaine. the astonishingly ambitious law, the bush administration's proudest domestic achievement, was crafted with high-poverty, low-achieving schools like this one in mind. nclb proponents and critics alike agree that the law's greatest accomplishment has been shining an unforgiving spotlight on such languishing schools and demanding that they do better. at blaine, for instance, only 13% of fifth- and eighth-graders were reading on grade level or above in 2004--a number that has since risen to 36%. under the law's most visible stipulation, states must test public school students in reading and math every year from third through eighth grade, plus once in high school, and reveal the results for each school or face a loss of federal funds. just as critical, schools must break out test results for certain groups: blacks, hispanics, english-language learners, learning-disabled students. this has embarrassed many a top suburban school where high-flying majorities have masked the low achievement of minorities and special-ed students. the law insists--with consequences for failure--that schools make annual progress toward closing the achievement gap between rich and poor, black and white, and bring all students to grade-level proficiency in math and reading by 2014, ending what the president memorably called "the soft bigotry of low expectations." ask almost any school administrator, education policymaker or think-tank wonk about nclb, and you're guaranteed to get at least one sunny metaphor about how the law opened a window, raised a curtain or otherwise illuminated the plight of the nation's underserved kids. this is nclb's biggest achievement and the best reason for congress to reauthorize the law. "at the end of the day, who can argue with holding schools accountable for all children?" asks paul vallas, outgoing chief executive of philadelphia's schools and incoming head of the new orleans school district. "who can argue with not tolerating failing schools or with giving poor kids the kinds of choices that wealthier kids have? it's a civil rights issue." there's plenty of argument, however, about how the law seeks to achieve these goals. nclb takes the federal government--which contributes only 9¢ of every $1 spent on u.s. schools--where it's never gone before: telling the states how to measure school success, specifying interventions for failure, mandating qualifications for teachers and even telling the nation how to teach reading. this year, as the five-year-old law comes up for debate, an unforgiving spotlight will be focused on its impact thus far, including its numerous unintended consequences. many teachers are enraged by the law's reliance on high-stakes exams that lead schools like blaine to focus relentlessly on boosting scores rather than pursuing a broader vision of education. more than 30,000 educators and concerned citizens have signed an online petition calling for the repeal of the 1,100-page statute. some offer comments like this one from a former superintendent of schools in ohio: "nclb is like a russian novel. that's because it's long, it's complicated, and in the end, everybody gets killed." whether nclb is achieving its objectives remains an open question. fourth-grade reading scores on the national assessment of educational progress (naep) rose sharply from 1999 to 2004, but most of the gains occurred before the law took effect. the achievement gap appears to be narrowing in some spots--fourth- and eighth-grade math scores for minorities, for instance--but not others. the gap between white and black eighth-graders has widened slightly in math, for example. gains for eighth-graders in general remain stubbornly elusive. secretary of education margaret spellings, who has been advising the president on education since his days as texas governor, notes that the law went into full effect only last year and that more time is needed for it to work. still, she and the administration have proposed a large number of adjustments to a law she once compared to ivory soap, saying "it's 99.9% pure." "we wrote the very best bill we could five years ago," spellings told time, "but we've learned from our experiences." meanwhile, members of congress have their own fix-it agendas, as do state education officials and, of course, the teachers unions. much of the debate over renewing the law is focused on five areas of controversy: •ayp on reading and math tests: is it the right tool for measuring learning and raising achievement in the nation's schools? page 1 of 4 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | next >> top stories photoexclusive pics: inside bhutto's 'prison' sicily's mafia: life after decapitation behind the alicia keys myspace scam most popular most emailed huckabee's bid for the christian rightrowling reveals harry potter secretsca wildfires force mass evacuationrowling: potter's dumbledore gayput dumbledore back in the closetare microchip tags safe?who really owns the roads?alabama picks a bible textbook the power of birth ordera political win for china's hu adhd kids can get better behind the alicia keys myspace scam the dinosaur conspiracy theory when the patient is a googler mellowing out on marijuana in search of superman's inner jew the great uncircumcision debate behind the king's rebuke to chávez iraq, afghan war cost: $1 trillion the power of birth order see complete list get this in your email you will need to install or upgrade your flash player to be able to view this flash content. also, javascript must be turned on. grab it! to put quotes of the day on your personal page or blog features | click arrows to view more features more features   world are iraq's detainees treated fairly? world forgiving the lord's resistance army doctor's view when surgery succeeds, but healing fails surgeons take it for granted that skin will heal after we cut it. once in a while, however, that doesn't happen ask your questions novelist umberto eco nation a-rod's salary: watching for collusion science need to weed your roof? humor cartoons of the week arts rhett, we hardly knew ye world arafat rally sparks gaza violence arts in search of superman's inner jew quick links: u.s.|world|blogs|business & tech|health & science|entertainment|photos|magazine|specials|archive rss feeds|get time on your mobile device|podcasts|video|newsletter services: subscribe | |help|site map|contact us||terms of use|media kit|reprints & permissions|opinion leaders panel editions: time domestic|time europe|time asia|time south pacific|time for kids time.com copyright © 2007 time inc. all rights reserved. reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. alex tehrani for time left to right, third grade student, phillip armstrong, teacher, mr. kennard branch, and student, william givens take part in math explorations during class at m. hall stanton school in philadelphia, pa. in march of 2007. close

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