Quotes: Some Reformers Worried About #NCLB Waivers

We remain skeptical of the storyline that says we are a nation filled with states chomping at the bit to do the right thing for children but which are hamstrung from doing so by federal bureaucrats and paperwork. -- DFER's Joe Williams

Comments

[Robert Pondiscio]

I remain equally skeptical of the storyline that says schools are dysfunctional purely as a result of adult indifference or self-interest.

I see no reason to believe that failing schools are filled with tenured layabouts refusing to teach and not getting fired. Schools are mainly filled with decent people trying their best and failing. And with depressing regularity, they are failing despite doing exactly what they were trained to do. Even *because* they are doing exactly what they were trained to do.

The entire edifice of accountability assumes that American education is essentially a sound product, but it's delivered poorly. I see no evidence to suggest this is true. I see much evidence to suggest it's not.

[Robert ryshke]

It seems to me that the wisdom of granting states a waiver on NCLB depends entirely on the reasons for the waiver. In schools, we grant exceptions all the time. Johnny can hand in his homework late because his grandmother recently,passed away and the family had funeral obligations to fulfill. Sally was not granted an exception because she claimed her dog ate her homework.

So if we grant states exemptions or waivers we ought to have a fairly comprehensive process in place for deciding why we do that. It can't be arbitrary or seem to be unfair to states that are moving forward with their responsibilities. We could argue the effectiveness of NCLB to meet the learning needs of ALL students, but in the end we should be clear about why we want to hold states accountable for meeting the NCLB goals. Is it feasible for 100% of students to meet expectations by 2014? Is it feasible for all states to reach the same end zone by the same time?

we know poverty, unemployment, and other family issues impact whether students can achieve their goals in school. People in all states do not have the same standard of living. We should look at the impact of poverty on education within states to determine whether it changes a sate's ability to fulfill the needs of all students.

This is a complex problem that will require a carefully designed solution.

Bob

[Paul]

"Is it feasible for 100% of students to meet expectations by 2014? Is it feasible for all states to reach the same end zone by the same time?" NO! All kids are different. They have different strengths and weaknesses as well as varying degrees of readiness, ability, and motivation. Why are these differences essentially ignored in our public schools?

[Doug]

We go on and on in this debate and around and around because when we face the real reason for all of our problems;

too much poverty and too much concentrated poverty

Our capitalist mentality and our total aversion to paying taxes will not allow us to face the music.American middle class kids do as well on PISA as anyone in the world. It is now HARDER to get out of poverty in the USA than in most developed nations.

As soon as somebody says POVERTY IS THE #1 REASON BY FAR FOR OUR FAILURE.

The next question is "What is the #2 reason because we cannot solve #1?"

As a result we will wallow in these terible results for another 20 years.