Act takes the wrong tack

Last week we reported the Columbia Falls Junior High School failed to meet federal standards for progress under the No Child Left Behind Act. Because one segment of the school's population -a segment that is considered "poor" by the feds-didn't make the standards, the whole school is considered a failure.

Now the district will have to offer some sort of tutoring to students next year. We don't have a problem with schools being held accountable under the Act, but to call an entire school a failure because one group didn't meet federal standards is rash.

The Act even asks more than that. Eventually, schools have to be 100 percent proficient in skills like reading and math. That means every student, all the time, special education included. It sounds great on paper, but it isn't realistic under the best of circumstances.

If the feds were really interested in leaving no child behind, they would adequately fund education and create a system that rewarded the education community with success, rather than threaten it with penalties if it fails.