The consequences of this “storm” include a narrowing of the curriculum to focus on reading and math, at the expense of other core subjects such as science and social studies. They also include a “dumbing down” of state standards, and a wave of cheating scandals that have implicated school district officials in Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; Pennsylvania; and elsewhere. (We’ll have a full report on these scandals, their fallout, and what they say about American public education in our September issue.)
Perhaps the biggest blow NCLB has delivered is a general lack of faith in our public schools that isn’t wholly justified. As Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, writes in his “Learning Leadership” column this month: “America’s public education system is the best that it has ever been. … But the growing number of schools failing to make AYP, not because of a lack of academic achievement but because of flaws in the accountability model, adds to the perception of general failure.”
As in Joplin, the nation’s leaders have a critical opportunity to reinvent the future of education. eSchool News readers have weighed in with their own thoughts on how the revised education law should look, as well as their best ideas for school reform. Now, it’s up to lawmakers to make sure the next version of NCLB strikes the right balance between flexibility and accountability, while leading education boldly into the future.
Outside the remains of what used to be Joplin High School, AP reported, someone used duct tape to transform a sign missing all but two letters from the word “JOPLIN”—from “OP” into “HOPE.” Here’s hoping our nation’s leaders have some of the same courage personified in Joplin to set aside their differences and work together to craft a common vision that makes all of our schools even better than before.
Other recent columns by Editor Dennis Pierce:
Why poor results from a national civics exam shouldn’t be a surprise
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