cross posting because no one in GD seems to care about education.

[liberal_at_heart]

I got an email today from my child's school district informing me that because our state legislation did not tie state standardized testing to teacher assessments our waivers from No Child Left Behind have not been renewed. Therefore, my child's school along with most schools in WA are now deemed "failing". Well frankly I don't give a shit if Duncan deems my child's school as failing. But I do have to wonder under Duncan's Department of Education if my child will graduate. We have three more years to go. I just don't know if we are going to make it. All I can say is I know my child will be just fine in this life with or without a high school degree. There have been plenty of successful people in this world who never received a high school diploma. I refuse to assign a value to my child based on what Duncan values.

[femmocrat]

1. I don't think that means a whole lot, except for funding.

Your child will receive a diploma. It could affect class size or the availability of electives, etc. Hopefully someone with more facts at their fingertips will weigh in soon.

Good luck!

[madfloridian]

2. I posted about this...it's a shame. He's acting like he's the king of education...

And he knows nothing about it.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/04/1296879/-WA-state-educator-to-Arne-Duncan-Stop-saying-our-schools-are-failing

Iseminger wrote a letter to Arne Duncan. Arne Duncan can keep his cynical NCLB waiver — Washington school board member

Dear Secretary Duncan,

Last week you revoked Washington State’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver, resulting in nearly every school in Washington being considered failing by your Department of Education. This summer, as a School Board Director in Lake Stevens, WA, you’re requiring I send a “failure letter” to parents of any school that receives your funding.

Your reason for revoking our waiver: we didn’t pass legislation you wanted. More precisely, we passed legislation, but it didn’t have the wording (actually, one specific word) you wanted.

Since you’re so distant from us – nearly 3,000 miles by one measure – let me tell you about this other Washington: We have strong leadership in our board rooms, schools, and classrooms; we have professional and effective educators; and our students are capable, confident, and work extremely hard. But don’t take my word for it – our SAT scores, among other measures, speak for us.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Just one of many people who can prove himself more competent than Duncan ... nt

[liberal_at_heart]

6. thanks for posting that letter. That is fantastic.

My husband mentioned today that he wouldn't mind pulling our son out completely, let him get his GED, and move on to college. There is a great program at one of our local community colleges that is designed specifically for students with developmental disabilities. I can't wait for him to get into that program.

[madfloridian]

3. You are right about GD

In fact the only ones here who even care about the loss of public schools are in this forum. One thing I think is we need to rec posts here more often...I am trying myself because I tend to forget. If we do we can call attention to it without the bruising in GD.

[Ka hrnt]

4. I think you mean Duncan's DUHpartment of Education...

The man's a blatant example of cronyism on Obama's part. He is at best useless; mostly he's destructive to public education. Obama's done some good things, but Duncan is a decision that America will be suffering from for some time.

[LWolf]

7. My state

DID tie test scores to teacher evaluations, and were told that we didn't do so in a way that pleased Duncan et al., so our waiver was endangered.

Therefore, test scores will play a much bigger role in our evaluations this year, even though it's a brand-new Common Core aligned test our students, and most of our teachers, have never seen.

We've had glimpses of "samples," and "practices," which are markedly different from the tests our students have been taking.

Your child can graduate if the school is labeled "failing." At least, depending on your state, if your child meets the testing benchmarks.