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 IS
EXCELLENCE ENOUGH?
(Making the Grade)
Can a school be 'outstanding' and 'in need of improvement' at the
same time? Apparently so. Take PS 48, one of the best elementary schools
in the Bronx (NY) despite being in the middle of Hunts Point, one
of the poorest areas of the entire country. The Bronx has 137 elementary
schools, and PS 48th ranks 12th overall and #1 in English language
arts. So far, so good, but, unfortunately for PS 48, there’s
ANOTHER ranking system, this one prescribed by the Federal Government.
The 2001 federal education law known as No Child Left Behind requires
that states publish an annual list of schools that are deemed ‘in
need of improvement’. For the last two years, PS 48 has been
on this list.
PS 48 is not alone. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of schools around
the US are being identified as 'failing,' even though their students
are doing well. Defenders of NCLB say that's because these schools
are failing certain groups of children. Opponents of the law say it
punishes diversity and fails to recognize individual improvement.
produced by Tira Grey
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Original
Airdate: March 23, 2006 |
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