Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for August 25, 2005 SURVEY SAYS...

"68 percent of adults ... disagreed that a single annual testing of English and math skills, as required by No Child Left Behind, gives a "fair picture of whether or not a school needs improvement."

Expect a revolution?

Think again! The same survey showed that "59 percent ... knew "very little" or "nothing at all" about NCLB.

Oh, well, hope springs eternal...

Gallup survey finds 68% dislike method, while 90% support goal

BY ELISE WAXENBERG
Hearst Newspapers

WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans disagree with the way public schools are evaluated under the federal No Child Left Behind program, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The nationwide poll also showed that an overwhelming majority — 90 percent of those surveyed — said they support one of the main goals of the program, to narrow the "achievement gap" between white and minority students.

But 68 percent of adults surveyed by the Gallup Organization disagreed that a single annual testing of English and math skills, as required by No Child Left Behind, gives a "fair picture of whether or not a school needs improvement."

The survey was sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa, a professional educators' association, and was released at a Washington news conference.

The program, which is the centerpiece of the Bush administration's education policy, was signed by President Bush in 2002 after winning overwhelming approval in the House and the Senate.

The program requires states to design standardized reading and math exams and to give annual tests to students in grades three through eight, as well as once during high school. If a school fails to make "adequate yearly progress" — AYP — on those test scores, its students must be offered the option to transfer to another public school and low-income students must be offered extra tutoring.

If the school fails to meet state guidelines within two years of being declared "in need of improvement," "corrective action" is taken, which can include firing school staff or extending the school year.

Of the 1,000 adults polled by Gallup in June, 59 percent said they knew "very little" or "nothing at all" about NCLB.

Poll director Lowell Rose said the survey showed that the public supports the goals behind NCLB — improving school accountability and student achievement — but not the strategies that the law mandates to accomplish them.

Some 80 percent of adults surveyed said the statewide tests should include more subjects than English and math. Although states will also be required, starting in the 2006-07 school year, to administer science exams three times in students' K-12 careers, those test scores will not be required to be considered by the states in making AYP calculations.

Other factors used to evaluate schools include participation rates — 95 percent of a school's students must take the exams — and graduation rates. In addition, the score and participation thresholds for the general school population must also be met within subgroups, including racial minorities and low-income students.

Chad Colby, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education, said he had no comment on the poll.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who first sponsored NCLB in 2001, criticized the survey, calling it an attempt by "defenders of the status quo" to manufacture "excuses to avoid accountability."

He added: "If you peel back the layers of anti-reform rhetoric coming from some in the education establishment, it is clear that Americans continue to support the key principles of NCLB, and rightly so."