Rising Number of Schools Face Penalties
WASHINGTON – Falling short of requirements under President Bush’s education law, about 1,750 U.S. schools have been ordered into radical “restructuring,” subject to mass firings, closure, state takeover or other moves aimed at wiping their slates clean.
Many are finding resolutions short of such drastic measures. But there is growing concern that the number of schools in serious trouble under the No Child Left Behind law is rising sharply Ñ up 44 percent over the past year alone Ñ and is expected to swell by thousands in the next few years.
Schools make the list by falling short in math or reading for at least five straight years.
In perspective, the total amounts to 3 percent of roughly 53,000 schools that get federal poverty aid and face penalties under the No Child Left Behind law.
“It’s just a matter of time before we see upwards of 10,000 schools in restructuring,” said Michael Petrilli, a former enforcement official at the Education Department.
“Unless all of these schools suddenly turn themselves around, or the states continue to find ways to finagle the system, you’re going to see the numbers accelerate,” said Petrilli, now vice president for policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a school change advocate.
The Associated Press reported last month that schools were deliberately not counting the test scores of nearly 2 million students, mostly minorities, when they measure progress by racial groups. Those exclusions have made it easier for schools to meet their yearly goals.
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