Republicans are retreating on No Child, too
In my column today about President Obama's move away from No Child Left Behind, I raised some concerns about what could happen with his revisions. (I also pointed out several positives likely to come from his plan.)
But let me be clear; The president isn't the only one walking away from No Child. Congressional Republicans also are in retreat.
As an example, some Republicans on Capitol Hill have proposed doing away with requiring schools to show "adequately yearly progress." AYP, as it is known, is No Child's way of assessing whether schools are making sufficient progress on their state achievement exams. If they are, then fine. If not, and schools consistently fail to meet their AYP goals, a series of corrective measures are to take place.
But in a release put out yesterday by the GOP-led Education and Workforce Committee in the House, Republicans called for ending federal requirements for AYP and letting states determine whether their schools are progressing.
Of course, this has a common sense ring to it. Let states be laboratories and figure things out.