Thursday, August 19, 2004

I Will Resist Inventing a 'No Child Left Behind' Pun, But Regardless...

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune reported that several of the schools hit by the No Child Left Behind "sanctions," are some of the Chicagoland area's better-regarded schools:

Just days before the beginning of school, the Illinois State Board of Education on Tuesday released a preliminary list of 694 schools around the state that will have to offer students the choice to move to better performing schools, and in some cases, receive tutoring and other services.

The list also features schools more accustomed to accolades, including Hinsdale South High School, Evanston Township High School, Lyons Township High School North Campus and Highland Park High School.

Supporters of this No Child Left Behind provision might argue that these four high schools are a small percentage of the schools throughout the state of Illinois that have received sanctions, while a much larger percentage had been classified as "failing." Still, the whole idea of taking money away from a school because it's doing poorly rather than re-investing in the school is incredibly counter-intuitive, and for schools such as Highland Park and Evanston that are some of the best public high schools in the state, the sanctions would have a palpable effect if students started leaving.

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