Trouble signaled by early special education NCLB indicators

School board members have begun seeking real-time updates on indicators that may show areas of success and trouble on spring standardized test scores, which will determine Metro’s status under federal No Child Left Behind Laws (NCLB). On Tuesday, board members heard reports on two areas critical to NCLB success — English language learning (ELL) and special education — and received both good and bad news. Early indicators of ELL performance suggest MNPS is on track to pass all NCLB benchmarks for that group of students. Trouble is indicated, however, by early results for high school special education students in math. A crucial uncertainty hanging over the city is whether MNPS will continue to fail school performance benchmarks mandated by federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines, and advance to Restructuring II status this August. (http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=66364).