skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Did "No Child Left Behind" Leave Children Behind?

play audio
Play

Monday, January 8, 2007   


Today marks the fifth anniversary of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act," an effort to give all kids an equal educational opportunity in life. The phrase came from a Children's Defense Fund slogan, but Minnesota Representative Mark Kimball says the law hasn't lived up to expectations.

"The law was intended to increase standards and accountability for our schools, to make sure the kids learn at a rate that is measurable. The problem is that after it was passed it was underfunded by billions of dollars."

Kimball thinks the goals of the law are good, but it needs to be revised to replace test scores with measures to improve school quality and to close achievement gaps among students.

"...To make sure that the expectations put on schools are realistic, and are not penalizing kids, teachers, schools and school districts for not living up to standards, which may or may not be the best for that school or those kids. After all, the point of all this is: 'Are kids learning better?'"

Kimball says standardized tests don't measure the diversity of knowledge and achievement, or give a complete view of student and school performance. Another problem is that it doesn't address the needs of special education students or high-achievers. He says schools need that flexibility.

Over a hundred education, children's, and civil rights groups are calling on the new Congress to overhaul the law.

The "No Child Left Behind" law was signed by President Bush January 8, 2002. More online at www.educcountability.org.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021