“Troublemaker” Checker Finn, at right, believes that NCLB’s reauthorization is stalled because of five fallacies. He says it’s a myth that the law is underfunded, and he questions whether it has led to teaching to the test. “If the test is an honest measure of a solid curriculum,” he writes in Sunday’s Washington Post, “then teaching kids the skills and knowledge they need to pass it is honorable work.”
Whether you agree with him on those points, I’d be interested to hear reaction to his succinct summary of the problems with the law’s standards.
Compromises needed to pass NCLB left the law laid-back about standards yet fussy about what states and districts should do when those standards aren't met. The upshot: low expectations on one hand and too much micromanagement on the other.
Take a minute to read all five myths . The piece is short enough to be a blog entry. In the future, we’ll all be bloggers.