Q&E Fought the Law. And the Law Won
September 8, 2006 12:49 PM
The Quick and the Ed's Kevin Carey is continuing to try to put Richard Rothstein on the defensive.
I'm a little tired of this never-ending blogfest on poverty and schools and who's too soft on schools and who's too unrealistic about what schools can do. But this line from Carey revved up my interest:
"...Rothstein's frequent assertions to the contrary--NCLB is not based on the premise that good schools can erase the achievement gap."
Where could Rothstein have gotten the idea that NCLB was an attempt to close the achievement gap? Maybe from the law itself. Here's what's at the top of the first page of The No Child Left Behind Act, as it was passed by Congress and signed by the President:
Public Law 107–110
107th CongressAn Act
To close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that
no child is left behind.
Carey makes a good point about the difference between closing the achievement gap and equalizing proficiency levels, but, given the actual text of the law, it's hard to dismiss Rothstein's claim that lawmakers created NCLB to close the achievement gap.
