Source Notes: “Under ‘No Child’ Law, Even Solid Schools Suffer”

January 28, 2009 in Research Project

Title: Under ‘No Child’ Law, Even Solid Schools Suffer (The New York Times, 10/13/08)

Summary: Many California educators feel No Child Left Behind sets unrealistic standards for schools.

Topic: Should the Obama Administration reform the No Child Left Behind Act?

Category: Journalistic; Newspaper article

Publication Information: The New York Times, October 13, 2008

Author:  Sam Dillon

Location: NYTimes.com

Accessed: January 27, 2009

Support:

• Fawzia Kevel, Principal, Prairie Elementary School, Sacramento, CA: Attests to the difficulty of meeting Federal standards and expresses concern over the school’s likelihood of meeting the 2009 requirements.
• Richard Cardullo, Professor, University of California, Riverside: Led study that determined proportion of students scoring at or above proficiency standard increased less than four points annually from 2003 to 2007, under the Federal annual growth requirements.
• Jack O’Connell, Superintendent, California Department of Education: Predicted Congress would roll back the 100% proficiency goal in 2007.
• Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education: Defended the law’s 2014 proficiency requirement, but admits that the evaluation system needs reform.
• Robert Linn, Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado, Boulder: Argues that the proficiency goals are becoming increasingly unrealistic and says failure to meet them is demoralizing to schools.

Audience and Agenda: The New York Times is, along with the Washington Post, the major national newspaper most commonly cited in U.S. academic circles. It is one of the only metropolitan newspapers that does not rely primarily on commercial wire services for coverage outside its namesake locale. According to its Quantcast audience profile, it shares online readership  primarily with other business-minded publications such as The Economist and The Wall Street Journal.

Usefulness: The article examines historically well-regarded public schools that have difficulty meeting the proficiency goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. Specifically, it demonstrates how the growth requirements stipulated by the law are beyond the reach of even the most well-performing schools, at more than six times their average annual increase.

Works Cited:

“nytimes.com – Quantcast Audience Profile,” http://www.quantcast.com/nytimes.com

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