Transcript
PAUL PETERSON: After that rainy day yesterday, it was nice to see that there was at least some sunshine breaking through the clouds today. Because that's sort of the story we're going to tell, that No Child Left Behind has a sunnier story than the clouds that the news media have identified in recent months. But that doesn't mean there aren't clouds out there. So we're going to talk about some of the promises of the legislation and some of the problems that we have identified thus far.
Now, the way we're going to proceed this noon is to begin with the basic point that No Child Left Behind is not a brand-new idea. There are some predecessors that are worth taking a look at. And that's what we're going to be doing, is looking at the predecessors to No Child Left Behind because they're providing us clues what happens when you put into place an accountability system.
When you look at these predecessor programs, you discover that accountability systems tend to soften over time. They may be legislated like lions, but they get implemented like lambs. The surprise that we have for you today is that even soft accountability systems, lamb-like ones, if you please, even soft accountability systems work. But we are recommending that states forge ahead by putting into place school accountability systems because those may prove to be more effective than any alternative.
That's the overall argument. Many of you know what the key provisions of No Child Left Behind are, but just to remind you all and those of you who don't follow this on a daily basis, some of the key provisions that we're going to talk about today are annual testing in math and reading for grades 3 through 8, and also, once in high school, the schools must ensure that all students become proficient in the designated subjects by the year 2014, and that before that time, schools and each significant ethnic subgroup within the school must make adequate yearly progress towards that objective. If they do not, then students after two years are to be given their choice of a public school within the district; after three years, students are to be provided with supplemental services; and after five years, the school is to be restructured. We lay out these and other provisions in great detail in the opening chapter to the book.
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