Arne Duncan has labeled my school—and every school in Washington State—a failure. Cue the revolt.
The ultimate absurdity of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been visited upon my home state of Washington.
One of the many outlandish propositions of NCLB was that 100 percent of students at all schools in the United States would be fully proficient in reading and math, as registered by student test scores, by 2014—all without adding the resources needed to support our children. Because no state has been able to achieve 100 percent proficiency, nearly all of the states have already received a federal waiver from NCLB—on the condition that they implement policies that reduce teaching and learning to a test score.
Now, because our State Legislators did not move to mandated that standardized test scores be attached to teacher evaluations, Washington has become the first state in the country to lose its waiver from the many requirements of the No Child Left Behind act. The U.S. Department of Educationposted a letter about the status of Washington’s waiver on Thursday April 24th. The loss of this waiver means that every parent in the state should expect a letter informing them that their child attends a failing school. It also means that that school districts will lose control of how they spend a portion of the Arne Duncan has labeled my school—and every school in Washington State—a failure. Cue the revolt. | I AM AN EDUCATOR: