School accountability, vouchers -- and deceit

By BILL ARCHER
FLORIDA VOICE

Seven years later than many of us in public education had already suspected and perceived, details of the purpose and means of the federal No Child Left Behind Act have been made public. Susan Neuman, a member of the group that wrote the NCLB legislation, admitted that some members "saw NCLB legislation as a Trojan horse for the choice agenda, a way to expose the failure of public schools and blow it up a bit."

Seven years later, it's apparent that the NCLB legislation has been instrumental in producing the growing list of nationwide failures in public schools for whose inadequacies it has intentionally and consistently blamed teachers. Its unrealistic standards and arbitrary goals that all students would be on grade level in reading and math by 2014 have been proven scientifically impossible to achieve.

And, seven years later, school districts are struggling, in part, from the financial consequences that come from failing the NCLB's arbitrary standards. Huge amounts of a school district's budget must be spent on testing materials, practice books and practice tests to supply everything necessary to implement each state's high-stakes testing program, (Jeb Bush's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT here), so that its results can be evaluated by the NCLB standards. The FCAT exacts its own toll by taking money from the education budget to reward "A" schools, which don't need the bonus money, and withhold needed money from the "failing" schools.

Hundreds of teachers have been dismissed because of a lack of funding in Volusia County schools alone. Money from the federal government that could have been used for securing teaching units is being used to pay for vouchers and "tutoring" services for children in Title I schools that fail the NCLB.

Broad-brush the NCLB's negative impact across the nation and the trail of destruction of public schools is evident. Nationwide schools have been and will be closed because of the law's harsh sanctions. In their place will be found newly constructed, corporately connected schools built with public education dollars. In their classrooms will be found corporately hired "teachers" whose credentials satisfy the new school's requirements but not necessarily the state's Department of Education standards.

The public has been deceived by this administration's claim that it is reforming a failed public education system. All its honorable-sounding words about accountability are a cover for what it has actually been doing to flesh out the illusion of failing schools. An examination of its own connections to special corporate interests, those aligned with the choice agenda and publishing companies such as McGraw-Hill, all friends of the Bush brothers, are a fact and evidence enough of the NCLB's hidden goals. The goal to destroy public education and reward special interest groups while in the process is indeed being accomplished on a grand scale.

Jeb Bush met in Florida recently to continue his attempts to use vouchers that consume public school money to pay for private school attendance. He is again ignoring the Florida Constitution's laws against such policies and doing his part in continuing to deceive the public about the true goals of his, and his brother's education reform plans; plans that are unraveling as more investigate deeply into their details. The sooner the public understands the deception, the sooner it will be able to pressure future leaders to abandon these policies intended to sabotage public education -- the future of America's democracy.

Policies that promise accountability, vouchers and choice sound good to a trusting and unwary public when coming from an honest administration. But ask yourself where things have improved in this nation and who has benefited the most in the past seven years under this administration's claims before you go on trusting it with your nation's future.
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