A Harvard study released this week (link to the story here) suggests that when kids in white, middle class districts fail their government-mandated standardized tests and fail to live up to the federally-dictated standards, nothing happens to those districts. On the other hand (of course), when kids in poor, minority districts do the same, their districts get penalized. No big surprise.


In one example the study cites, states in rural Midwestern regions were granted extensions on deadlines to meet requirements on teacher qualifications that were unavailable to poorer rural regions with greater numbers of black Americans and ethnic minorities in southeast and southwest states.

And the response? Well, what else would you expect?

Chad Colby, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education, called Harvard's study "misinformed" and "flawed". "We leave it up to the states to determine how they are going to get there. It's exactly the opposite of one-size-fits-all."

Blame the messenger? Check. Obfuscate the facts? Check. Lie outright? Ding-ding-ding - we have a winner! Give Mr. Colby a Kewpie doll!