February 10, 2012 08:23 AM UTC

No Child Left Behind Gets Left Behind

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• by: droll

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

(Apologies if I missed someone else covering this. I looked, but I’m not that bright.)

Colorado joins nine other states in opting out of NCLB for flexibility’s sake. In total, 29 other states, Puerto Rico and DC will be opting out with alternate plans.

The idea is that each state will set its own goal, surpassing the minimum standard of NCLB in different ways. For instance, lowering dropout rates, or increasing graduation rates in lieu of standardized tests.

Hilariously, some members of the GOP are upset and think that states cannot be trusted to set their own standards. Instead they suggest that the biggest brother knows best. On more local levels the scheme enjoys broad support, from Republican governors, to the National Education Association.

The biggest question is can the states be trusted to do better? Well, there is an upside in the wildly different experiences schools will have. It may not be the fairest to the students in less than spectacular states, but we should see what works and what doesn’t fairly quickly.

Although, specific successful reforms have a nasty way of being spun. It honestly just occurred to me that this could really fuel the charter v union fight. My hope is that we all work together to make our school system strong again, both in and outside of our own communities. I’m also partial to the idea of unicorns (aren’t they pretty in your imagination? I like them in moonlight best).

Anyway, here’s the President, a brief break down of the scheme and NCLB history. https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/09/…