Wednesday, December 27, 2006

A UK version of No Child Left Behind?

In case you don't know where I stand on the "No Child Left Behind" program...let me give a quick clarification. As it currently stands, I am against it. It handicaps good teachers, provides a scapegoat for bad teachers, holds back students that could excel and gives struggling students a false sense of confidence/security as they "pass" based on improper standards.

That said, it seems the UK is looking into their education crisis.

I am encouraged by their intent to require the teacher to perform class-personalized testing/assessments of their own students based on their needs so they can provide adequate feedback. There will still be standardized tests to give a general view of how the school is doing (I don't know the status of their tests...but hopefully they are more adequate than those in the states). But the standardized test is not THE sole method of measurement...which means the teacher will be required to teach more than just how to pass the test. Which is good.

I hope it works...and I hope their students excel...so that perhaps we can make similar changes in the states.

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