Parents in Detroit are fuming over the abysmal scores of city students on a national achievement test - and demanding that the officials responsible for their kids' failure go to jail.
Of the 18 big cities that participated in the federally sponsored National Assessment of Educational Progress, Detroit came in dead last, with 69 percent of fourth-graders and 77 percent of eighth-graders scoring below the basic level in math. (Charlotte, N.C., topped the list, while Baltimore City ranked near the middle.) Detroit's scores were the worst ever recorded in the history of the tests.
"Somebody needs to go to jail," said Sharlonda Buckman, CEO of Detroit Parent Network, at a rally for 500 parents last Saturday. "Somebody needs to pay for this. Somebody needs to go to jail, and it shouldn't be the kids."