Two articles put us in mind of the old but trusty clich??, it's all about the kids. In the Washington Post, Bruce Fuller of UC-Berkeley offers a few suggestions for fixes to No Child Left Behind, some of which strike us as sensible. He also foresees that, if the battle over the law isn't quelled, "voters may grow skeptical of government's ability to improve the schools," which would be a disaster for kids in failing schools. In the same paper, columnist Jay Mathews asks for students, teachers, and parents to send him stories about how NCLB has impacted real schools and children, for better or worse. "Just give me the facts," he writes. "No dissertations on the need for accountability or the bankruptcy of top-down reform." Though Gadfly is wary of the idea that a law with a 14-year horizon should be judged by its first-year effect on schools, we applaud Mathews's desire to get beyond the rhetoric and look at NCLB where the rubber hits the road - the classroom.
"Only the politicking gets an 'A'," by Bruce Fuller, Washington Post, February 1, 2004
"Seeking clarity on No Child Left Behind," by Jay Mathews, Washington Post, February 3, 2004 (registration required)