http://www.gazettenet.com/01162003/schools/3601.htm
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By RYAN DAVIS, Staff Writer
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Thursday, January 16, 2003 -- NORTHAMPTON - One year after President Bush =
signed the far-reaching No Child Left Behind bill into law, local =
educators say it is failing on at least two counts.
The biggest effect of the new education provisions has been an increase =
in paperwork, they say. Many also complain that the law amounts to an "=
unfunded mandate," requiring changes and improvements to educational =
programs without providing enough money to carry them out.
As for one of the major provisions of No Child Left Behind - instituting =
an annual system of testing students in English and math - Massachusetts =
is ahead of the game because the controversial MCAS exam was already in =
place. That aspect of the law has been a problem for many states.
Schools now must make sure that students' scores on the exam increase =
enough each year to meet the "adequate yearly progress" goals set by No =
Child Left Behind, which mandates that all students receive proficient or =
advanced scores on the exam by 2014 - or their schools will risk losing =
federal funding.
Other No Child Left Behind provisions, such as ensuring that all teachers =
are "highly qualified" by the government's definition and instituting =
programs dealing with school safety, had little effect on Valley schools, =
a survey of area superintendents showed.
In most communities, all teachers had the training required under the law =
and the schools did not have the types of discipline problems dealt with =
in the school safety provisions.
In general, superintendents said they welcome attempts to improve the =
quality of schools, but they harbor doubts about whether the federal law =
lays out the best way to bring about those improvements. They say it =
places a greater emphasis on paperwork than on funding.
Donna Harlan, associate superintendent for Northampton, said the analysis =
now required of test scores, teacher training, and other data are "an =
enormous amount of paperwork."
"In the past, we never had to do that," Harlan said. "Administrators have =
to think about this, which draws time away from what we are good at: =
taking care of children and families."
Hadley schools Superintendent Nicholas Young termed the paperwork "=
administratively burdensome" without much real change.
"It's much more of a documentation process than an academic change process,=
" Young said.
But overall, he said, the law "is a good idea at a bad time" because of =
the school's tight budget.
"Right now, we're struggling to develop a strategic plan (to be in =
compliance with the law) that we likely won't be able to afford," Young =
said.
Easthampton Superintendent John Cullinan said his district has had no =
major challenges in implementing the law, though he is worried about the =
failure to adequately fund all the mandated changes.
He suggested that while the law may have a significant effect on =
underperforming schools, those where students are already doing well won't =
be helped much.
"It's almost a 'wait until you fail before you get money,'" he said. "The =
additional moneys are going to underperforming schools. Why isn't there =
some money available to allow you to sustain the programs that allowed you =
to succeed?"
Harlan said she is also concerned about placing additional significance =
on the MCAS by using results as a way to determine federal funding.
"In the past, we measured progress by many different assessments. Now the =
only one that matters is MCAS," she said. "This office is about =
instruction and equity. It's not about MCAS."
Young said most of the requirements outlined in the No Child law have not =
affected his district, where students have some of the highest MCAS scores =
in the state.
Gus Sayer, superintendent of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, =
said that requiring increased accountability is "not a bad idea, but some =
of this information is things we have known about all along but we haven't =
been so careful about documenting."
Young said he is concerned that the law outlines several lofty goals - =
ensuring that every child achieves proficient or advanced test scores, for =
example - without providing enough money to achieve those goals, =
especially for small school districts facing difficult financial =
situations.
He described the new federal law as a system of "unfunded mandates." For =
instance, an federal grant program aimed at increasing the use of =
technology in the schools netted Hadley only $576.
"It cost us more in staff time to be in compliance than the money we got," =
he said. "Taxpayers don't want teachers and administrators filling out =
forms, they want them helping kids."
And Cullinan said he is worried that the law's overarching goals, such as =
penalizing the school financially if every child doesn't graduate from =
high school, are unrealistic.
Staff Writer Skye Rohde contributed to this story. Ryan Davis can be =
reached at rdavis who-is-at gazettenet.com.
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Subject: No Child Left Behind law flunks, Daily Hampshire Gazzette,
1-16-03
From: Angela Valenzuela <valenz@mail.utexas.edu>
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