Un-American Activities, Commuting in Comfort, and Lost Honors

Teacher Magazine ’s take on education news from around the Web, April 8-15.

Bowing to appeals from school leaders, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has announced her intention to give states greater—though as yet unspecified—flexibility in meeting the student-achievement goals set out by the No Child Left Behind Act. A new study suggests that this is probably a pretty good idea since what’s being done now doesn’t seem to be working for many schools. The study, by the Northwest Evaluation Association, looked at test data in 23 states (a “broad but not nationally representative” sample) and found that students are actually making less progress than before NCLB took effect. Part of the reason, the researchers speculated, could be that teachers feel compelled to concentrate on annual proficiency targets rather than on the individual...