Only the Good Die Young
Success can sometimes be a school’s worst enemy according to the logic of No Child Left Behind.
A school can only be considered “exemplary” if its number of non-proficient students in reading or math decreases by 10 percent or more.
No Child Left Behind is based on year-to-year comparisons. An exemplary school may fail to retain its exemplary status if student achievement is so high that the school can’t make further reductions in non-proficient students.
The state Board of Education will have a hearing on May 8 in Carson City on a proposal to tweak the rules a bit. The new language would allow an exemplary school to remain exemplary as long as there is “no significant difference in the percent of non-proficient” students.
