A little something for your hip pocket: ABC Music & Me can strengthen the failing grades recently given to No Child Left Behind by an ABC News study.
"Many critics say the program results in empty "teaching to the test." But ABC News spent months on an investigation to see how No Child Left Behind is doing, and found something critics may be surprised to learn — in a lot of places, it's working."ABC News gave No Child Left Behind's central element — testing students to meet standards — an A-.
The standards themselves got a C. They are inconsistent — usually set too low by the individual states, critics say.
Equal money to schools got a D. Most states still spend more of their money on the wealthy schools.
Improving teacher quality earned a C. Teacher standards are rare — and talented teachers have no incentive to go to struggling schools.
The handling of special needs and non-English speaking students got a C. Those students are forced to take the same tests, often skewing results.
Rescue plans for failing schools got a D. Right now the plans are a band-aid fix, like extra tutoring.
Hat tip: Kindermusik's Marketing Director, Lisa Rowell
