Education Too Important To Be Left To the Status Quo

Via RealClearPolitics Rueben Navarette, Jr. writes regarding the battle of NCLB foes

It's easy to see why those who prefer the status quo detest No Child Left Behind. Under the law, children in every racial and demographic group in every public school must improve their scores on standardized tests in math and science. No excuses. Schools that fall short of that goal can be shut down, and their students can transfer to another public school.

The critics hate requirements like that for one reason -- because good tests not only tell you if kids are learning but also if teachers and administrators are holding up their end. If the truth comes out, disgruntled parents might go from demanding accountability from schools to demanding it from the individuals who work in them.

The critics are nothing if not versatile. First they insisted that No Child Left Behind was unfair to schools because it was a one-size-fits-all approach with no flexibility. Then they said the law was unfair to teachers because it tied them to student performance when not all children learn at the same pace.

Now they're insisting the law is unfair to some students because it benefits middle-class white kids and hurts Latinos and African-Americans. At least that is the conclusion of a troubling new study by the deceptively named Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.

Seems to me you can't have it both ways, you can't complain about the law's lack of flexibility and then complain when some school districts with better or more creative lawyers find some flexibility.

To be certain, the Bush Administration's centerpiece has been poorly implemented, particularly if school systems are finding ways around the law. But for the first time in decades those arguing about the quality of schools now have really hard data, comparable data to look at. In that regard, NCLB has succeed. Of course what we do with the hard data is now the real question. Concluding, Navarette writes

I suspect that the Harvard study is right about one thing -- that some schools, including those that educate white and middle-class children, have come up with creative ways to skirt the law by taking advantage of waivers and the like.

But so what? The schools that resort to such maneuvers are only hurting the kids they're supposed to be teaching. Minority students, far from being disenfranchised, are much better off for being held accountable with no exceptions and no excuses.

That can be messy. But whom are we kidding? It's nothing compared to the mess that the special interests have made of the educational system.

At this point, education is too important to be left to adults currently running the system.