Posted by Beth

Depending on how you feel about NCLB, you either loved or hated NY Times columnist Michael Winerip and his unwavering criticism of the law,

In his final education column yesterday, Winerip offers recommendations for NCLB reauthorization.  The one that caught my eye was a recommendation that the federal government should financially reward states that close income gaps and punish those that don’t make (adequate yearly) progress in eradicating the gaps. His point is that institutions other than public schools should bear responsibility for poor children.

The AFT offers a recommendation with a similar goal: shared responsibility for student learning. Our recommendation: Require states to develop a “learning environment index” for all schools and mandate that districts and states address the problem areas identified by the index for schools not making AYP.

Our rationale: NCLB has established high-stakes consequences for staff and students, yet many of the schools not making AYP do not have adequate facilities, safe conditions, teacher retention policies, and the financial and professional supports necessary to succeed. The gap in achievement is often a reflection of the gap in conditions. The learning environment index should identify and measure teaching and learning conditions in each school that are known to contribute to increased student achievement. Schools that fail to make AYP would be required to show improvement on their learning environment index, and states and districts would be required to provide the resources to ensure that schools address the teaching and learning conditions identified for improvement.