Reply #1: 'No Child' Expansion Is Outlined [View All]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3461-2005Jan12.html?sub=AR



washingtonpost.com
'No Child' Expansion Is Outlined
High Schools Would Face Increased Accountability
By Michael A. Fletcher and Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 13, 2005; Page A19


President Bush yesterday proposed extending federal testing and accountability requirements to the nation's high schools, which for decades have been plagued by troubling dropout rates and flagging achievement levels.

In a speech at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, the president outlined a $1.5 billion plan that would require students to take annual tests in reading and mathematics through 11th grade. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, which Bush signed into law three years ago, public school students are required to take annual tests in grades 3 through 8. Schools face an escalating series of sanctions if students perform poorly on the exams.

"Testing is important. Testing at high school levels will help us to become more competitive as the years go by," Bush said. "Testing in high schools will make sure that our children are employable for the jobs of the 21st century."

Bush's plan to expand the testing requirements into secondary school was applauded by education advocates, who noted that school improvement efforts most often focus on students in lower grades despite clear shortcomings among high school students.<snip>