1750 Schools Miss AYP for Fourth Consecutive Year

Looks like another career is going to begin to take off: restructuring specialists. According to A.P. (here we go again) nearly 1750 schools failed to meet NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress for the fourth straight year and consequently face restructuring. For a list of the order of sanctions see Stateline. The frustration at schools like these must be beginning to feel overwhelming. A great research project would be to chronicle the different school responses to the restructuring the schools undertake. There is a wealth of qualitative data in there that would give a voice to frustration, atonement, denial, rejection, and anger.

Three options for the inevitable train wreck: 1. change course by redefining sanctions 2. pump incredible resources into the schools including outstanding teachers equiped with all the support they need and solid leadership 3. change the way students are assessed to include classroom assessments as part of the formula 4. create a climate of support for teachers as change agents and field experts with the help of communities dedicated to the systematic improvement of student learning. Frankley I'm partial to all of the above, but we're going to need more than "things will sort themselves out, just let the sanctions run their course" to get through the next eight years.

I love the coment at the end of the article: "Education Department officials caution that the current numbers are still being verified. " Better be cautious, these numbers could go higher? Or better be cautious, these numbers could go lower? These possibilities are almost irrelevant by the time schools in the thousands begin to face restructuring.