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Basing
education on Bush's policy plan
President
George W. Bush is pushing his own agenda
onto state schools by rewarding the schools
that follow his plans while punishing those
that don’t.
Education
Secretary Margaret Spellings told education
leaders the states that understand Bush’s
new education laws will “be gratified,”
according to CNN.com, meaning that if a
school is teaching something Bush does not
agree with, or doesn’t have test scores
high enough, a school will be penalized.
No part of this plan reflects a care for
the students on the part of Bush or Spellings.
States
should not be forced to follow Bush’s
beliefs when planning for better local education.
States must focus now on raising test scores,
because by doing so they receive benefits
such as accommodating more disabled children
or working toward different academic standards.
In
order to qualify for these benefits, states
must not challenge the main points of the
law. Students must take yearly tests in
reading and math and publicly report the
scores. This will give proof, Spellings
said, that states are raising the bar. But
what about the students who don’t
do well on tests? Or the schools that are
working to catch up to the national standard,
but don’t have the time or money for
their students to cram for federal tests?
The
schools that do more than just meet the
current standards will get even more from
the government. Bush wants to implement
yearly high school testing as well, but
Congress has not yet agreed. Schools that
begin doing these things of their own accord
will gain administrative support.
So
far, the new law has been frustrating, making
schools jump from lower expectations to
very high expectations. State education
leaders have complained that the law is
unreasonable and rigid. Once the expectations
are met, the law will be a bit more flexible.
But
for most schools it will be a long time
before that bar is reached.
This
plan is more concerned with politics, approval
ratings and the way other countries view
our literacy and math skills than with helping
children learn.
A
couple of states have actually branched
out to avoid meeting these difficult standards.
Connecticut is planning a lawsuit, according
to CNN, and Utah is arranging a state bill
that will give priority to state education
goals, instead of federal ones.
Inner-city
schools can be in the same district as schools
that pull money from parents in the neighborhood.
Both of those schools are held to the same
high standard. Only one school is bound
to succeed because of funding for tutors
and better educational materials, and people
who can spend their time helping students
instead of having to work. And that is the
school that will be rewarded with federal
money.
There
should be different standards for each school
based on their previous test scores. That
way, schools can still work to improve,
but their improvements will be reasonable.
Schools should not receive benefits just
because they did what the federal government
wanted, but for doing something that helps
kids to really learn and understand.
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