Testing Bush

Washington Monthly, March, 2003 by Michael E. Jordan

In response to Siobhan Gorman's "Tutor Restoration" (December): It is more optimistic than realistic to expect the systemic failure of the public education system to suddenly disappear at the stroke of the president's pen signing the No Child Left Behind Act. But within all this shouting for accountability, what is to happen to those kids still trapped in failing schools? A better question yet: What role can municipal and state leaders play in helping raise the achievement of those students who have been forgotten, undereducated, and systematically eliminated from opportunities we all demand of our government? Gorman's article touches on the need for accessibility and availability of supplemental services.

These are truly the keys in the determination of true value and ultimate success of this provision. Far too many urban students are being given the "short end of the stick" when it comes to the quality of the services they can realistically obtain. Municipal and state leaders should take full advantage of their opportunity to take the lead in helping those children caught in this time gap: the gap between the attempts at competency and the real reformation in order to fulfill NCLB mandates and truly leave no child behind.

MICHAEL E. JORDAN
Ann Arbor, Mich.