That Uncle Sam might back off of its demands that states intervene in failing schools has some reformers on the left on full alert. (educationnext.org)
Hess and Finn, in hard - hitting chapters that bookend the volume, call on Congress to set realistic expectations for student performance based on national standards, to provide districts with initial flexibility when intervening in failing schools, but to establish tough consequences for superintendents and principals if those efforts are unsuccessful. (educationnext.org)
But it can not make anyone set rigorous standards, select good tests, establish reasonable «cut scores» (part of the Texas formula involved slowly raising those targets), or successfully intervene in failing schools or districts. (educationnext.org)