LA Times backs California's NCLB Defiance
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Today the Los Angeles Times, the largest circulation newspaper in the largest metropolis in the most populous state in the nation, came out in support of the decision by Governor Jerry Brown and Superintendent Tom Torlakson to ignore the Department of Education's invitation to file for a waiver of No Child Left Behind.
The newspaper's editorial board wrote:
The U.S. Department of Education is wrongly attempting to impose its view of how states should improve education instead of just requiring them to show evidence of higher achievement. Test scores probably have some value in the rating of teachers, but that has yet to be proved. It's important for schools to do this thoughtfully -- in ways that are valid, backed by research and that work for individual districts -- rather than through rushed nationwide mandates.
This is a prudent stance, and it is greatly appreciated. I wrote a few weeks ago about the conditions Secretary Duncan is setting as prerequisites for a waiver. States must put in place teacher and principal evaluation systems that include student test scores. They also must create new standards for college and career