Not every child

The (Tacoma, Wash.) News Tribune

Bush administration officials have given in slightly on one of the most obvious problems with the No Child Left Behind Act: the fact it makes no exception for special-education students in its strict testing requirements for school districts. ...

Earlier this month federal education officials said alternate standards could be set for students with "significant cognitive disabilities," provided they amount to no more than 1 percent of the students in any given grade in a school district. But Department of Education officials said they would relax the rules no further.

The idea that disabled students should be expected to learn instead of being shunted off to the side and forgotten is good. So is the concept of holding schools to tougher standards for academic achievement.

But the administration still has a long way to go in recognizing that teachers and principals are not superhuman and cannot meet unrealistic expectations.