Why We Need to Debunk "Grade Level"

As we have seen from the Obama administration and so-called "progressives," NCLB is going to be tweaked, not fundamentally altered or discarded. I'd argue that it's being tweaked and not discarded because there is a very strong sense that there is a magical thing called "grade level." This magical thing called "grade level" is (1) very real, (2) can be measured empirically with a fine degree of validity and reliability, i.e., it really tells us something useful and is beyond repute, and (3) lots of low-income minorities are not at "grade level" and is therefore cause for concern, as it is our sacred duty to get them to this magical place.

But, as I have been discussing, we can show that "grade level" (1) is a phantasm, (2) cannot be measured accurately or reliably and does not yield any kind of useful information whatsoever, and (3) is therefore meaningless when we talk about the academic achievement of low-income minorities.

This is a foundational critique that, if successful, will raise the following questions:

1) If "grade level" is a phantasm and does not accurately measure what students know and can do, what are other means by which we can better understand what students know and can do?

2) If it's meaningless to say that low-income minorities are not "at grade level," then what is a meaningful way to talk about the disparity that exists between low-income kids and their more affluent peers?

If we get lots of folks asking these questions, then there's an opening for discussion of alternatives. But if folks are not asking them, then they still uncritically and unquestionably accept that "grade level" is real and will, therefore, always be caught in a box. They will design more assessments -- maybe even some pretty good ones -- but these assessments will all be for the purpose of determining if kids are at "grade level" or not. Ergo, we are still where we are now.

With all due respect to the work that everyone -- including me -- has tried to do on debunking NCLB, we have clearly not achieved our goals. So that's why I'm suggesting this tactic.