After NCLB: Real Solutions

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  Welcome to NCLBgrassroots.org, a new website tracking news articles from every state on the No Child Left Behind Act and monitoring how communities are faring under the law.
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On January 7, USA Today revealed that the Department of Education paid columnist Armstrong Williams $240,000 to report favorably on the No Child Left Behind Act.  NCLBgrassroots.org chronicles the gap between the rosy Department of Education picture of NCLB and the on-the-ground experience objective journalists have been reporting on in the states and collected on this website.  NCLBgrassroots.org has created a special section for stories on this scandal. Click here for more...

 

 
States Revive Efforts to Coax NCLB Changes
Education Week
Some Legislators Seek Waivers Under Law
By Lynn Olson 2/2/05

Even before U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was confirmed in her job on Inauguration Day, a few state...
 
Va. No Child exemptions discussed in Washington
The News Virginian
By BOB STUART The News Virginian 2/1/05

Two Virginia education of-ficials met Friday with the Bush administration in Wash-ington, D.C., to discuss 10 possible state exemptions to the ...
 
District reinstates spelling bee after outcry from parents
The Boston Globe
2/1/05

LINCOLN, R.I. -- School officials have reversed their decision keeping students out of a statewide spelling bee, which they had decided to skip due in part to concerns about the ...
 
Dorgan may push for repeal of NCLB
The Bismarck Tribune
By JAMES WARDEN, Associated Press Writer
2/1/05

Sen. Byron Dorgan said he would push to repeal a federal education law if the U.S. Education Department continues using it to conc...
 
Get federal government off backs of schools
The News & Advance
1/30/05

Virginia school superintendents want to get the federal government off their backs.

They gathered in Richmond the other day to present their case to the General A...
 
New testing worries parents, schools
The Journal News
By DAVID NOVICH THE JOURNAL NEWS
1/25/05

Educators and parents are anxiously waiting to see how a large number of new state tests in English and math will affect elementary and ...
 
No ... Teenager Left Behind?
Time Magazine
By PERRY BACON JR.
1/24/05

If??only??it??were??still??2001. Back then, George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act sailed through Congress with little opposition. But now that Bus...
 
No Child Left Behind challenge dismissed
The Washington Times
1/21/05

Washington, DC, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- An appeals court in Washington Friday rejected a challenge to the makeup of the rule-making board for the No Child Left Behind Act.

 
Instructors say social studies suffering because of No Child...
KCTV 5 News- Kansas City
1/20/05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Social studies have become an unintended casualty of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" because of emphasis placed on other subjects, educators say.
 
Report: 9 of 10 schools will fail
Herald Tribune
The No Child Left Behind standards for Florida are too rigid and need to be adjusted, educators say.
By CHRISTINA DENARDO [email protected]
1/19/05

Nine...
 
School chiefs seek waiver from No Child Left Behind
The Free Lance-Star
Virginia superintendents visit Richmond, urge legislators to change the way federal education law is enforced in the state.

From STAFF and WIRE REPORTS 1/19/05

RICHMOND-...
 
Needed: A New Broom
New York Times
1/19/05

Margaret Spellings, the nominee to replace Rod Paige as education secretary, clearly needs to clean house once she takes control of the department. This point was underscored ye...
 
Va. seeks No Child rule change
Richmond Times-Dispatch
State to ask federal education officials for amendments to accountability system

BY HOLLY CARROLL TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

1/17/05

Now that state schoo...
 
Getting out of "No Child Left Behind"
KXMA 2 CBS
1/17/05

A number of North Dakota schools are unhappy about a federal law called "No Child Left Behind.''

It includes a number of teacher training and student performance ...
 
A Child Held Behind
New York Times
By MONICA DAVEY
1/16/05

At 12 years old, Paige Bonds is 5-foot-5, almost as tall as her mother. She already weighs more, a fact she acknowledges with an edge of pride, the pride ...
 
Propaganda won't fix No Child Left Behind
Palm Beach Post
By Palm Beach Post Editorial
1/15/05

The U.S. Department of Education won't admit that it was wrong to pay talk-show host Armstrong Williams $241,000 to gush over the No Child Le...
 
Student testing law not set for high school
The Republican
1/14/05

The White House has big plans for the nation's high school students.

President Bush wants to expand the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires that children in ...
 
Del. education chief rips extra testing
The News Journal
Superintendents divided on Bush plan
By CECILIA LE / The News Journal 01/14/2005

The state's education secretary opposes a plan by President Bush that would expand a national te...
 
109 state districts miss mark on academic goals
Detroit Free Press
January 14, 2005

BY LORI HIGGINS and PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

For 109 Michigan school districts, not meeting strict state academic goals is...
 
Bush Outlines Proposals for H.S. Students
Associated Press
1/12/05

DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush is beginning his push to require high school seniors to take the math and reading tests now required o...
 
Bush Outlines High School Student Plans
The Kansas City Star
BEN FELLER Associated Press
1/12/05

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - President Bush began a second-term drive Wednesday that he said would improve the American high school, urging the same t...
 
Leave the payola pundits behind
Chicago Tribune
1/12/05

WASHINGTON -- My conservative pundit friend Armstrong Williams just had the weekend from hell, answering phones and juggling interviews like a multitasking press agent for Paris...
 
Kelso: Bush and his big shots left me behind
Palm Beach Post
By John Kelso Cox News Service
Wednesday, January 12, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas — I'd like to thank Armstrong Williams for starting up the No Columnist Left Behind program.

 
When tests' cheaters are the teachers
The Christian Science Monitor
Probe of Texas scores on high-stakes tests is the latest case in series of cheating incidents.

By Kris Axtman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor 1/11/05

HOU...
 
The Art of Education Success
Washington Post
By Nick Rabkin and Robin Redmond
1/8/05

It is fall. Fourth-graders in a Chicago school in a low-income neighborhood are focused and coiled with excitement. They are drawing portr...
 
Teachers purchase additional supplies
Clovis News Journal
by Mike Linn [email protected]
12/16/04

Zia Elementary second-grade teacher Terri Damron has two budgets for school supplies — one from the school and one from her husb...
 
The joy of recess
The Seattle Times
12/16/04

Educators fixated on the three R's — reading, writing and 'rithmetic — ought not ignore a fourth R: recess.

On its face, recess seems to be superfluous. Nor does...
 
School reform means more than changing tests
The Detroit News
By Louis Steigerwald 12/15/04

Concerned that the Michigan Educational Assessment Program exam is not a meaningful test for students who go on to college, the Michigan Legislature voted...
 
Burmaster visit inspires her, students
The Post-Crescent
State’s top educator sees development of fitness, arts in Appleton schools

By Kathy Walsh Nufer Post-Crescent staff writer 12.2.04

APPLETON — A visit to Appleton schoo...
 
Teachers, union officials speak out on rules, paperwork
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
11.30.04

CHARLESTON (AP) - A push to improve student performance in West Virginia is crippling teachers' creativity and swamping them in paperwork, the West Virginia Education Associati...
 
Many Schools In Sousa's City Don't Play a Note
Washington Post
By Marc Fisher
11.30.04

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Washington's own John Philip Sousa, the father of American band music, the United States Marine Band an...
 
Reading More Into First Grade
Washington Post
Push for Early Literacy and Requirements of Standardized Tests Change Approach to 6-Year-Olds

By Jay Mathews Washington Post Staff Writer
11.30.04

One in a series...
 
Brookfield short of art, music goals
MSNBC.com
The News-Times Online
11.29.04

BROOKFIELD – When it comes to fine arts and music, students aren't getting the state's recommended yearly allowance.

Students ...
 
Recess a dying trend in U.S. schools
The Spectrum
Daily activity during school keeps kids healthy

By JENNIFER WEAVER [email protected]
11.29.04

CEDAR CITY -- Ask elementary students what their favorite par...
 
School science debate has evolved
USA Today
By Laura Parker, USA TODAY
11.28.04

The long-simmering battle over how evolution is taught in high school biology is boiling again.

Nearly 80 years after the famou...
 
Are Schools Cheating Poor Learners?
Los Angeles Times
Officials say federal rules compel them to focus on pupils more likely to raise test scores.

By Joel Rubin, Times Staff Writer
11.28.04

At the end of each day, whe...
 
Low note sounds for music education
The Union-Tribune
Budget cuts, testing cited in enrollment drop
By Chris Moran UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 11.19.04

Music instruction is in a free fall. Enrollment in music classes in San Diego Co...
 
Facts on Michigan high schools failing No Child Left Behind ...
Detroit Free Press
11.11.04

Michigan public high schools fail to make adequate yearly progress under state and federal guidelines for the No Child Left Behind Act for several reasons.

--Amo...
 
Bill Imperiling U.S. School Aid Killed by Va. Panel
WJLA/NewsChannel 8
11.11.04

Richmond, Va. (AP) - A legislative committee refused Wednesday to seek a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act even though several local school officials complained ...
 
Education's future
The Telegraph
By ASHLEY SMITH, Telegraph Staff
11.9.04

Many key players in the New Hampshire education system believe the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law by President Bush in January...
 
Under No Child Left Behind, schools are being set up to fail
California Educator
Stories by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
11.04.04

By 2014, nearly all of California's K-12 schools are likely to be labeled as "failing" under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) A...
 
Flood of lawsuits expected against No Child Left Behind Act
The Mercury News
ANDREA ALMOND Associated Press
10.29.04

THERMAL, Calif. - At the end of a dirt road snaking past date palm groves and trailer parks, students clad in white shirts and dark blue ...
 
Most districts ineligible to tutor under No Child
Palm Beach Post
By Kimberly Miller- 10.18.04

Palm Beach County school officials thought they would be able to compete with private companies for a share of the $2.4 million they have to shell out this ...
 
Art teacher retiring in style
Idaho State Journal
Cope earns his wings as Idaho Art Teacher of the Year

By Elizabeth Ziegler -10.17.04

As a 38-year veteran art instructor, American Falls High School teacher Stan Cope is ...
 
Kim Ode: No child left unrecruited
Star Tribune
Kim Ode
10.16.04

It's not that I object to our kids being made aware that military service is an option once they graduate from high school -- they've known this ever since th...
 
State tests paint an inaccurate picture
The Ithaca Journal
WILLIAM C. RUSSELL
10.15.04

The New York State Education Department informed the Ithaca City School District in mid-September that performance of students at Caroline Elementary ...
 
Transfer trouble: 31,053 eligible but few can go
The Courier-Journal
Jefferson lacks open school spots
By Chris Kenning [email protected]
10.15.04

Tricia Trent's two sons, Aaron and Dalton, attend Layne Elementary School, one ...
 
Law Leaves Better Schools In Worse Spot
Washington Post
By Marc Fisher
10.14.04

Anthony Fears, principal of Anne Beers Elementary School in the Hillcrest section of Southeast Washington, should be the kind of school leader who swears ...
 
School testing mandate in doubt
Houston Chronicle
GAO report says plan is plagued by faulty data
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO New York Times 10.4.04

WASHINGTON - A new federal requirement to sharply expand annual testing of students st...
 
Teachers say No Child Left Behind should study bigger pictur...
The Providence Journal
R.I. schools listed as needing improvement under the federal act say the guidelines are too narrow and fail to take into account major strides in other areas.

BY LINDA BORG Journal Staf...
 
23 states' schools are left behind
Contra Costa Times
By Jackie Burrell
10.2.04
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Outside Lake Wobegon, the goal of 100 percent academic excellence is problematic.

Educators shuddered when Pres...
 
Unreliable Data, Oversight Hampers Ed Law
Yahoo News
By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer
10.1.04

WASHINGTON - Unreliable test scores and other shaky data may be causing states to wrongly penalize some schools under federal law, cong...
 
Bush's No Child Left Behind Education Plan Gets Failing Grad...
Bloomberg Magazine
2004-09-30 06:16 (New York)
By Liz Willen

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Michael McGill climbs the terrazzo steps to a balcony above the newest wing of Scarsdale Middle School, part of ...
 
No Child Left Behind and Socorro's schools
El Defensor Chieftain
Dr. Robert Holson
9/29/04

(Editor's Note: This is the first in a six-part series of guest columns on the subject of the No Child Left Behind Act and it's effect on the Socorro Co...
 
Many Illinois districts opt out of PE requirement
St. Louis Post- Dispatch
By Alexa Aguilar Of the Post-Dispatch
09/28/2004

Cahokia fourth-graders have physical education class just 12 times a year. Some Alton high school students aren't required to tak...
 
Turning to More Than Scores to Rate Schools
Washington Post
By Jay Mathews
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Last year's academic ratings of Rhode Island public schools showed that the Metropolitan Regional C...
 
Grandma to protest with a party
The Journal Times
By Brent Killackey
9/28/04
RACINE - Georgia Mras has four grandchildren attending Racine Unified schools, including one at Schulte Elementary School, two at McKinley Middle School and on...
 
The Choice on Schooling
The Washington Post
Thursday, September 23, 2004; Page A28

PRESIDENT BUSH'S No Child Left Behind legislation was an aggressive federal intervention into a traditionally state and local matter. We support t...
 
Landes blasts No Child act
The Daily Progress
By James Fernald / Daily Progress staff writer
September 23, 2004

Del. R. Steven Landes, R-Weyers Cave, lambasted the federal No Child Left Behind act Thursday, saying it limits...
 
NE - Neighbors talk education at house party
Lincoln Journal Star
9/23/04

BELLEVUE, Neb. - At a time when the war in Iraq and the presidential election top the news agenda, the nation shouldn't forget about education, retired school teacher Phyllis Sm...
 
Group in Winston-Salem among thousands getting together to t...
Winston-Salem Journal
By Theo Helm JOURNAL REPORTER
9/23/04

Gathered around a living-room table and debating education issues as if they were in a coffee shop, eight people in a house on Salem Avenue ...
 
Iowa "house party" finds fault with No Child Left Behind
Sioux City Journal
9/22/04

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Parents must remain involved in education for it to get the attention it deserves in this election year, teacher Alan Young told a group at Callanan Mid...
 
Forum editorial: One size doesn't fit all students
The Forum NORTH DAKOTA
Published Tuesday, September 21, 2004

The federal No Child Left Behind Act is turning out to be a one-size-fits-all imposition that is unfair to good public schools.

Last...
 
Leave time for recess
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD 9/21/04

School administrators need to get out more. Catch some fresh air, stretch their legs, maybe chat or play a game.

Then ...
 
Let teachers do their jobs
Cape Cod Times
By BETTY-ANN LAURIA 9/20/04

Many people think that teachers choose their profession because of the vacations. Discussing what teachers do in their so-called time off would be another co...
 
Frustration reigns at 'No Child' forum
ILLINOIS- Lake Forester
BY LINDSAY BELLER STAFF WRITER
9/16/04

About 60 school officials, parents and legislators gathered at Oak Terrace School in Highwood seeking answers to questions about the No Ch...
 
Escaping bad schools isn't easy
OHIO- The Plain Dealer
Thursday, September 16, 2004

President George W. Bush's education re form is called No Child Left Behind.

But when it comes to the law's promise to allow students to fle...
 
No Agency Left Behind
Government Executive
By Brian Friel [email protected]
9/15/04

If you want a good lesson in management, visit your local school principal. He or she can tell you what it's like to manage in ...
 
Latest test scores show good school progress
The Island Packet
Be realistic about what works, what to expect
Published Friday, September 17th, 2004

The Beaufort County School District has a lot to be proud of in the latest results of the Pa...
 
Duluth gets attention in close election year
MINNESOTA- Duluth News Tribune
POLITICS:Four high-ranking officials from President Bush's administration have visited the Northland this summer.

It took only one unassuming question from an 11-year-old boy to get str...
 
Small schools struggle with No Child Left Behind
Hollister Free Lance
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
By Christine Tognetti/Staff Writer

Hollister - Tres Pi'os School Principal Lou Medeiros was pleased when he received the Adequate Yearly Progress (A...
 
Mandatory exams test students' nerves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By LAURA DIAMOND
Published on: 09/14/04

All Jolynthia Thomas has to do is think about taking tests and her stomach flip-flops.

The high school senior must pass Gwi...
 
Officials frustrated with No Child law
The Daily Herald
By C. L. Waller Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Tuesday, September 14, 2004

The applause from a group of about 60 school officials on Monday indicated just how frustrated school...
 
Schools plan to file suit over federal initiative
The Desert Sun
No Child Left Behind act biased against non-English speakers, officials say

By Jennifer Larson
The Desert Sun
September 14th, 2004

The Coachella Valley Unif...
 
Coachella Valley schools could sue over No Child Left Behind...
KESQ News 3
9/10/04

THERMAL, Calif. (AP) - Members of the Coachella Valley Unified School District board are threatening to sue the state and federal governments over what they call unreachable goa...
 
Don't make testing a substitute for learning
The Charlotte Observer
Real education suffers when testing becomes an end unto itself

FANNIE FLONO
9/10/04

Many teachers will likely say amen to the words of former Charlotte-Mecklenburg...
 
Doomed schools
Albuquerque Tribune
No matter what they do, they'll only continue to fail with a flawed ratings system

COMMENTARY

By Marshall Berman
9/9/04

I'm saddened both to see the...
 
Academic Abilities Similar, Yet AYP Outcomes Different
Education Week
By Erik W. Robelen
9/8/04

When it comes to the No Child Left Behind Act, sometimes geography is destiny.

Take the neighboring states of Florida and Georgia. A publ...
 
More Wisconsin students to receive standardized testing
Duluth News-Tribune
Associated Press
9/6/04

The number of Wisconsin students taking statewide standardized tests will grow by about 80 percent next year, as the state tries to meet the requirements ...
 
Good Schools or Bad? Ratings Baffle Parents
New York Times
September 5, 2004
By SAM DILLON

DARIEN, Ill.- Students are returning to classes across the nation amid a cacophony of contradictory messages about the quality of their education,...