What have I been telling you?

From this morning's Tribune about an audit revealing the many problems with the Portland School District's transfer policy and, by implication, its "school choice" program:

• "...the transfer system may weaken neighborhood schools... ."
• "...the transfer system has not increased diversity in schools but actually reduced it... ."
• "...under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, higher-achieving students were more likely to transfer out of low-performing schools."
• "The transferring students were more likely to be white, come from higher-income families and have a lower rate of absence."
• The flight of white and higher income students from neighborhood schools is "...an example of 'skimming,' a trend found in other large urban districts."
• Students who transferred under No Child Left Behind were more likley to "regress" in both reading and math achievement than students who remained in their neighborhood schools.

That all sounds familiar to me.  Here's what I wrote in one of my many posts on the unintended consequences of Portland's misguided school choice policy:

"I've long argued that school choice undermines neighborhood schools by draining them of their most precious commodity - good students, particularly those with supportive parents."

The audit, read carefully, is a condemnation of the main provision of No Child Left Behind, which allows all students, regardless of need, to transfer out of schools with low test scores.  That provision, in concert with the district's commitment to school choice, truly exacerbates the growing chasm between the "good" Portland schools and all the rest of them. 

The Oregonian's article on the same subject adds this interesting twist to the findings of the audit:

"The audit will be music to the ears of school closure opponents, who have argued through two years of closure debates that the district's transfer policy and penchant for magnet and specialty schools are robbing neighborhood schools of students."

As one of those closure opponents, I can say with some authority that they got that part right!

Comments

[DarePDX]

So rich white students test scores dropped when they transfer schools?

Anyways, I thought test scores weren't really your cup of tea. Now your providing them with credence and credibility because it supports your position. How about citing the real issue. What happened with the actual schools that were failing to meet standard under No Child Left Behind. Whats happening to these schools now seeing smaller class sizes and students commited to the neighborhood?