Educrats fail children, Bush promotes them

Accountability, No Child Left Behind, phonics, progress testing, English immersion, direct instruction. All these things work. Educrats, including the American Federation of Teachers, oppose them all.

George Bush takes the pragmatic approach. Do what works. And how have they worked?

Debra J. Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle:

This month, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the national report card, reports the following:

Reading competency for 9-year-olds has reached its highest level since NAEP began measuring progress in 1971.

The gap between black and white 9-year-olds tested for reading was 44 points in 1971 to 26 points in 2004

The gap between white and Latino students narrowed from 34 points in 1975 to 21 points in 2004

Half the gap-narrowing has occurred since 1999.

When Bush was governor, black eighth-graders in Texas led the country in math and reading.

Seems overwhelming to me.