LOCAL HEROES: SCHOOL DISTRICT REBELS AGAINST NO CHILD LEFT LAW

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DAILY HERALD, IL - A DuPage County school district could be the first in
Illinois - and perhaps the nation - to refuse to administer mandatory
state exams to students who haven't yet mastered English.

The boycott by Carol Stream Elementary District 93 would be an act of
civil disobedience against the state's decision to force English
learners to take the same tests as their fluent peers.

Nearly 10 percent of the district's 4,300 students were categorized as
having limited English skills in 2007.

The federal No Child Left Behind law requires that all public schools
annually test all students in select grades.

District 93 officials say they're willing to break the law this spring
to shield students from the frustration and humiliation of taking an
exam not designed for them. . .

Illinois dropped the test that was designed for English learners this
fall, after the U.S. Department of Education made a final ruling that
the test wasn't an adequate measure of state learning standards. The old
test was written in simpler English.

As a stopgap measure, English learners will take standard assessments
with some special accommodations, such as extended time and audio
recordings, while Illinois develops a test that will meet federal
guidelines.

Politicians and educators throughout Illinois have aggressively opposed
the move, predicting it will cause districts to fail and face serious
sanctions under the federal accountability law.

A group of Chicago parents plans to keep their children home during the
March testing, while local school officials have petitioned state
lawmakers for a one-year reprieve for English learners. And, some other
superintendents say they also would consider a boycott. . .

A Wisconsin teacher made national news last year when he protested the
emphasis the law places on standardized testing by refusing to
administer the exams - for a single day. Threatened with termination, he
proctored the exams the second day. . .

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/22/7240/

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