Shocking report: 82% of U.S. schools are failing (Updated) :: Political News and commentaries

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March 9, 2011

Shocking report: 82% of U.S. schools are failing (Updated)

Topics: Political News and commentaries

The AP reports that an estimated 82 percent of U.S. schools could be labeled as "failing" under the nation's No Child Left Behind Act this year, according to Education Secretary Arne Duncan:

The Department of Education estimates the number of schools not meeting targets will skyrocket from 37 to 82 percent in 2011 because states are toughening their standards to meet the requirements of the law. The schools will face sanctions ranging from offering tutoring to closing their doors.

As bad as this sounds, it pales in comparison to Duncan's proposed remedy ... which is to "redefine failure."

Right! Bring the bar down so low that no child can fail ... that will do it!

Instead, why not raise the bar on the teachers and the schools? Take for example the fact that Catholic schools (and home-schools) spend less money, cost less money, and their students significantly outperform public schools - and get the added advantage of learning discipline, values, etc. (all Catholic schools accept students regardless of their religion):

And Duncan's public schools (where bad teachers can't be fired and students learn nothing in the way of values and discipline, and where students perform below the level of Catholic schools) are costing taxpayers an arm and a leg, and taxpayers aren't given the true cost of public education:

And we can place the blame squarely on the teacher's unions and Duncan's Department of Education.

(Catholic schools are used as an example, but there are also non-Catholc parochial schools that outperform public education)

Meanwhile, in a related matter, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has released its new ad "Let Opportunity Scholars SOAR" in advance of tomorrow's committee markup of H.R. 471 - the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act. The SOAR Act reauthorizes the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP), which ended under pressure from national teachers unions in 2009.