Non-Performing Schools

The state is supposed to issue its list of so called non-performing schools under the guidelines of the Federal No Child Left Behind law. In the past, the Blog has frequently criticized this law, saying a more appropriate name would be No Child Left in Public Schools, because that's the apparent intent of the administration in Washington that is implementing this law. For example, a school might have 99% of its students in the Exceeds Expectations level of MCAS, but because a small group of students, perhaps those in the fourth grade who receive special education services, are making progress but not as rapidly as the law requires, then that entire school is labeled as non-performing and subject to increasingly harsh sanctions ending with the closure of the school.