As I read the November 13 edition of Gadfly, I noticed an error in your article on "institutional behaviorism" (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=123#1539). You wrote "Third, those being pressed to change are also pushed in the opposite direction by, for example, the perverse tendency of Title I and other funding formulas to 'punish' successful schools by withdrawing dollars from them. . . ." Title I used to do that, but this horrible requirement was eliminated in the 1994 reauthorization. Now Title I funds are distributed to schools strictly by percentage of poor kids in the grade spans in which districts decide to expend them. The exception is that all schools with over 75 percent poor kids must first get their fair share of Title I funds.
Of course, there are extra, but relatively small amounts, of Title I funds now available under No Child Left Behind to assist schools in need of improvement and their students. Those funds, which are not formula funds, are withdrawn when such students and schools start making adequate progress.
Cynthia G. Brown
Washington, D.C.