Just like last year, a record number of Washington public schools -- including 30 in Seattle -- were labeled as academically struggling and could face federal sanctions, according to a preliminary report the state superintendent's office released Friday.
This year, 281 schools across the state failed to meet annual performance goals as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act, up from 250 last year. The number of districts on the "needs improvement" list grew to 30, including Seattle Public Schools.
It's a troubling trend, and one that will continue unless significant amendments are made to the law, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson said.
"We've got to get No Child Left Behind changed so we can have a clearer report card that doesn't crush the morale of every school in the country," she said.
It seems that Ms. Bergeson believes that we need to lower the bar to stop this trend. I'm surprised that that isn't coupled with a request for more money.
If the problem is indeed the Federal "No Child Left Behind" program, then there should be some measure of gains that are being made despite the apparent trend downwards evident in the test scores, such as increases in college enrollment and improved performance of freshman college students.
What's indisputable is that on the average, public school students cannot measure up to the achievements being made by homeschooled students.
State Schools on the list.
State Districts on the list.
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