NPR recently aired a fascinating story on the schools operated by the Department of Defense for children of military personnel, and whether they, too, should be subject to NCLB's requirements. (Today they're not, because they're not funded by the Department of Education and Title I.) The National School Boards Association says they should be. The Pentagon school system says it's doing fine with its own reform and accountability schemes, which it claims are more vigorous than those of most states. These schools - which educate a highly transient population, often from lower-income homes with low levels of parental education - nonetheless manage strong scores on assessments like NAEP. One troubling point: at the end of this story, reporter Nancy Marshall noted that the Pentagon is considering turning over its schools to local districts. One wonders if they would stay as good as they are today.
"Should military schools be 'left behind?'" by Nancy Marshall, NPR, March 9, 2004, (audio link, Real Player or Windows Media Player required)