Dianne Feinstein: “I just read statistics given to me by the superintendent of public instruction of Chicago which showed a 12- to…”

“I just read statistics given to me by the superintendent of public instruction of Chicago which showed a 12- to 14-percent improvement in core curriculum grade scores since Chicago ended the policy of social promotion and put in motion remedial education and decreased class size and also set some standards holding students accountable for performance and teachers accountable for performance as well. I have a very difficult time with what the Senator from Minnesota is saying because he is essentially calling this a policy, in a sense, of guaranteed retention. It is not that at all. It is a policy that says there should be standards; that there should be achievement levels set in each of the grades; that there should be a minimum pass requirement for promotion; and that schools should mean something in terms of learning. The problem with the amendment is it obfuscates our amendment. It prevents a clean vote on our amendment, and in effect it would destroy our amendment because it sets up a series of seven conditions which would make it virtually impossible to enact our amendment.”