The tough work of public education was captured in results from this year's fourth-grade English tests. No students scored in the top level 4. I don't want to make excuses, but half the students in the 2001 class either are in special education or have English as a second language. But academically, these students need a great deal of work. The challenges facing public schools from BJM to Cayuga Heights and everything in between are on the table in the U.S. Congress.
Good intentions are plentiful, but the operative word has to be reality.
The House of Representatives' education reform plan will increase the frequency of standardized tests for most students. The Senate is grappling with issues of accountability and definitions of a successful school. In bureaucracy-heavy New York, another layer of mandates and analyses might gum up public education even more. New York's new standards are a work in progress and the jury's still out on testing and first-run programs. The struggles facing low-achieving students give weight to the popular belief that achievement on standardized tests has as much to do with home life as school work.