America's "failing" schools : how parents and teachers can cope with No Child Left Behind / W. James Popham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Popham, W. James.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education--United States--Evaluation.

Education.

United States.

Evaluation.

Education--Standards--United States.

Education--Standards.

United States. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Physical Description:

ix, 157 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : RoutledgeFalmer, 2004.

Summary:

In 2004, millions of parents and teachers across the United States will receive report cards in the mail alerting them that their local schools have "failed." For many Americans, this will be the first introduction to President Bush's controversial No Child Left Behind legislation, which calls for expanded student testing, more stringent accountability requirements, and annual school-focused report cards at the state, district, and school levels. The legislation ties substantial federal funds for disadvantaged students -- which many schools have already been receiving for almost four decades -- to performance requirements dictated by the new legislation. But will these report cards be accurate? In America's "Failing" Schools, W. James Popham provides parents and teachers with explanations of No Child Left Behind as a whole, walking them through the implications for standardized testing in particular, in uncomplicated and straightforward language. Popham offers definitions of the law and its key terms, explanations of what it really means when a school is labeled "failing," and concrete suggestions for what can be done in response. Because parents with children in failing schools will have the heretofore rare option of transferring their children to other, non-failing schools, they will need to understand why a "failing" school may actually still be a good school. Similarly, the teachers and administrators at both failing and passing schools need to know whether their schools' labels were truly deserved and how to bring about the changes required by the new legislation. Whether parent, teacher, administrator, or involved citizen, anyone concerned with the state of education in the U.S. will want to read America's "Failing" Schools.

Contents:

Introduction: Schools Under Scrutiny 1

Part I. The No Child Left Behind Act

1. A Major Education Law's Testing Requirements 13

2. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Little Letters, Big Impact 21

3. Report Cards and Sanctions 37

Part II. Educational Tests: The Heart of the Matter

4. Some Nuts and Bolts of Educational Testing 49

5. Measuring Temperature with a Tablespoon 61

6. Today's Standards-Based Tests 75

7. Instructionally Supportive Accountability Tests 83

Part III. Evaluating Schools

8. The Evidence Needed to Evaluate Schools 95

9. Student Affect 105

10. Determining a Particular School's Quality 117.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-156).

ISBN:

0415949475

OCLC:

54371442