Alive 75: If physicians were held to the same standard as schools

Adequate yearly diddily poop, part 2: “Alive 75”

No Child Left Behind mandates that all students be “proficient” (another term worthy of examination) in core subject areas by 2014. Kansas defines proficiency as “meeting or exceeding” the curricular standards for a subject area and grade level. Using the first assessments as a baseline for student performance, AYP is the amount by which student scores must increase each year such that 100% of students are proficient by 2014. If students’ scores don’t increase by that amount, the school is labeled “failing”.

It isn’t just the school’s overall scores that must meet AYP, but also sub-groups of students within the school. Students with learning disabilities, English language learners, and students in poverty must all meet AYP independently of the school overall. It is often these disaggregated scores that cause entire schools to fail AYP.

More here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8128107

Original article:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29491-Topeka-K12-Examiner~y2010m4d8-Adequate-yearly-diddily-poop-part-2-Alive-75