Principals doubtful of meeting NCLB standards
A new survey of more than 700 principals in Minnesota finds nearly all of them are doubtful about meeting federal No Child Left Behind standards by 2014.
The group Minnesota 2020 asked the state's 1,600 school principals to fill out an online survey. More than 700 did and the results of one question particularly stand out.
When asked whether they think all schools will meet the federal standards by 2014, 97 percent said no. Another large majority also said they have already diverted core classroom spending on test preparation costs.
Minnesota 2020 is a think tank founded by former DFL lawmaker Matt Entenza, who is also considering a run governor. Entenza said it's telling that the results of some questions about No Child Left Behind were so one-sided.
"So this isn't just the opinion of a couple academics, it's not the opinion of a few folks who are line leadership who may have an axe to grind," Entenza said. "These are the folks who actually have to make it work, and they're saying it doesn't."
The group advocates moving away from the current MCA tests, which are given once a year, and instead using a series of tests that measure how each student improves during a year.
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