Vermont Stands Up for Its Children
Vermont decided not to apply for a waiver from NCLB.
Not because it loves NCLB. No one does.
But because Vermont education officials had their own ideas about how to help their schools.
And they discovered that Arne Duncan’s offer to give them “flexibility” was phony.
He did not want to hear Vermont’s ideas. Contrary to his claims, the waivers do not offer flexibility.
What Arne Duncan wants states to do is to agree to his own demands, not to shape their own destiny.
He wants them to allow more privately managed charters. He wants them to evaluate teachers by student test scores. He wants them to adopt Common Core state standards. He wants them to agree to threaten and close down schools with low test scores. He has a laundry list of what he wants them to do.
Of course, this is all very puzzling since none of Arne Duncan’s mandates have a solid basis in research or evidence. In that regard, they are not much different from NCLB. You might say they represent NCLB without the
Not because it loves NCLB. No one does.
But because Vermont education officials had their own ideas about how to help their schools.
And they discovered that Arne Duncan’s offer to give them “flexibility” was phony.
He did not want to hear Vermont’s ideas. Contrary to his claims, the waivers do not offer flexibility.
What Arne Duncan wants states to do is to agree to his own demands, not to shape their own destiny.
He wants them to allow more privately managed charters. He wants them to evaluate teachers by student test scores. He wants them to adopt Common Core state standards. He wants them to agree to threaten and close down schools with low test scores. He has a laundry list of what he wants them to do.
Of course, this is all very puzzling since none of Arne Duncan’s mandates have a solid basis in research or evidence. In that regard, they are not much different from NCLB. You might say they represent NCLB without the
