The Forum on Educational Un-Accountability

The WaPo has a good article on NCLB's upcoming fifth anniversary. With reauthorization looming on the horizon, WaPo is giving a forum to the malcontents to air their grievances. They've run out of ideas.

[DoE Sec'y Spellings'] remarks come as various groups begin to weigh in on the law and what they believe works and what does not. The No Child Left Behind law is scheduled to be reauthorized by Congress, but it is uncertain when lawmakers will act.

"Believe" was the correct choice of word, because none of these clowns has any idea what the problems confronting education are or how to solve them. For the most part part, these are special interests groups that have been feeding from the trough for decades and just want to make sure the trough continues to get slopped. NCLB is a thorn in their side.

The Forum on Educational Accountability -- a coalition that includes education, religious, civil rights and disability rights groups -- said yesterday that the law overemphasizes standardized tests and arbitrary academic targets. The coalition also criticized penalties the law imposes on schools that fail to meet standards.

So what's the alternative? Underemphasize standardized tests? Emphasise non-standardized tests. Not penalize failing schools? This is a status quo group. The American people aren't satisfied with the status quo anymore.

"We don't have to throw out the whole law and make a big political battle," said Reginald M Felton, a senior lobbyist for the National School Boards Association, a member of the coalition. "But we need to change from the punitive, 'gotcha!' kind of approach to actual support for progress."

So what should we do? Hand out lollipops to the failing schools and continue to let them mis-educate millions of kids? Let's face facts. Most schools today are conducting educational malpractice when it comes to education the bottom half of the curve. If there was such a thing as educational malpractice, the trial lawyers would be having a field day with our educators and would surely bankrupt the current system in short order. I don't view this as a bad thing. Businesses, and education is a business, need a good kick in the ass once in a while to get them back on course when they've strayed. Education has strayed into an alternate reality where somehow results and outcomes don't matter. We spend too much tax dollars today for people not to be concerned with this state of affairs.

The coalition includes the National Parent Teacher Association, the NAACP and the National Education Association, a teachers union. The coalition has called for more federal education funding to help schools meet the law's mandates.

Gee, I'm shocked. Calling for more money, who'd a thunk.

Educators panacea of choice.

And, that's the problem with the status quo critics we have today. Either the don't recognize that there is a problem. They don't have any non-laughable solutions. Or, they're just look for more money.

This is a bill of goods that no one is willing to pay for anymore.