Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on November 15, 2007 - 11:48.
My first response when I saw the title of the article "No Child Left Behind, It's Here to Stay," was to ask myself, "Why, if it only tells lies about America's public schools?"
My rural high school just barely made annual yearly progress this year. That made no sense to me because I have such high achieving group of tenth graders. I went in search of the answer. That's when I discovered the big lie. In my state, only 10th graders in beginning algebra and geometry are counted for annual yearly progress. The only 10th graders in my high school that are taking algebra or geometry in tenth grade are those who are in the slow-track or identified with learning disabilities. Most of the tenth graders are taking intermediate algebra, trigonometry, or college algebra. Of approximately 200 students in the tenth grade class, only the bottom 90 were counted. Forty-three of those 90 were identified special education. Forty-seven percent of the 90 students passed the exam. The public was informed that only 47% of our students made annual yearly progress, when, in truth, 76% of our 10th graders have proven competency. The children who are being "left behind" in the numbers are our best students.
No Child Left Behind.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on November 15, 2007 - 11:48.
My first response when I saw the title of the article "No Child Left Behind, It's Here to Stay," was to ask myself, "Why, if it only tells lies about America's public schools?"
My rural high school just barely made annual yearly progress this year. That made no sense to me because I have such high achieving group of tenth graders. I went in search of the answer. That's when I discovered the big lie. In my state, only 10th graders in beginning algebra and geometry are counted for annual yearly progress. The only 10th graders in my high school that are taking algebra or geometry in tenth grade are those who are in the slow-track or identified with learning disabilities. Most of the tenth graders are taking intermediate algebra, trigonometry, or college algebra. Of approximately 200 students in the tenth grade class, only the bottom 90 were counted. Forty-three of those 90 were identified special education. Forty-seven percent of the 90 students passed the exam. The public was informed that only 47% of our students made annual yearly progress, when, in truth, 76% of our 10th graders have proven competency. The children who are being "left behind" in the numbers are our best students.