New information today reveals a loophole in the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" results. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the test results of some minority students were not included in the final assessment reports. Here is an excerpt from the Dispatch article:
...In Ohio, almost 40,000 students, or about 4 percent of all test scores, aren’t counted under the law’s racial categories, a computer analysis by the Associated Press found. Almost all were minority students.
Nationwide, the analysis found that about 1.9 million students — or about 1 in every 14 test scores — aren’t being counted under the law’s racial categories. The scores of minorities were seven times as likely to be excluded as those of whites, the analysis showed....
The No Child Left Behind Act has been a tremendous burden to teachers, students, and school boards because it is an unfunded mandate. The Bush administration has demanded improvement in reading and math, but they have refused to provide federal money for programs to improve reading and math. This administration has manipulated this whole program to further their own political agenda. In the end, students, teachers, parents, and school boards have been used and abused by the Republican Party and this administration.
