More NCLB

I prefer what Deseret News says about NCLB. (Thanks to Democratic Veteran for this link).

In contrast, it’s very interesting to see how two big media papers are disseminating disinformation about NCLB. When I first read this confusing Washington Post piece, I didn't quite know what to make of it. Mark A. R. Kleiman provides this illuminating connection, also cross-posted on Media Transparency.
Note: this insert added 12/1/03

Now I wish I could feel absolutely certain that the publication of this story, written largely (though not entirely) in defense of a bill that is showering dollars on the testing and test-preparation industry had nothing to do with the fact that the Washington Post's parent company now also owns Kaplan Educational Systems, which advertises "effective, research-based programs to help schools raise K-12 state assessment scores, improve graduation rates and demonstrate the adequate yearly progress required by No Child Left Behind." (Note: Kaplan now has larger revenues than any other division of the company: higher, for example, than the Post itself.)

In the spirit of standardized testing, let's try a little fill-in-the blanks:

For the Post to publish a blatantly illogical story slanted to favor the interests of a sister company is a _______ of ________.

Update Well, that just shows how tricky fill-in-the-blanks is: I got several apposite responses, including "crock of sh*t" and "violation of ethics," when all I was looking for was the pedestrian "conflict of interest."

As for this LA Times piece, I really don’t know. But what the hey: it’s a three for one. Smear Dean and Kerry as well as misrepresenting NCLB as school reform. School reform, my ass!

Media transparency gets at the true agenda of NCLB, namely breaking the teacher’s unions in addition to privatizing more parts of the public sector.