April 26, 2004

Early news on NCLB

From the Sun-Times comes the news that NCLB may be working as planned in Chicago:

Kids who won highly prized transfers out of failing Chicago public schools averaged much better reading and math gains during the first year in their new schools --just as drafters of the federal No Child Left Behind Law envisioned, an exclusive analysis indicates.

And, contrary to some predictions, moving low-scoring kids to better-performing schools didn't seem to slow the progress of students in those higher-achieving schools...

Some researchers questioned the results, and said further study is needed. But some parents of transfer kids said they didn't need further study to tell them a switch was the right decision for their kids.

"My son has made almost a 360-degree turnaround,'' said Tammie Summerville, whose son, Isaac, now 10, barely paid attention in school and balked at doing homework -- until he won a coveted seat at Dixon Elementary, in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood.

"Now, he enjoys school,'' Summerville said. "I'm happy I switched.''

Posted by kswygert at April 26, 2004 03:19 PM
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