WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Education Department gave states final permission Wednesday to leave out the test scores of newly enrolled, limited-English kids when grading schools.

Roughly 5.4 million public school students are learning English as a second language.

Under the plan, newly enrolled students must take their state test in math, but not in reading, in the first year. In both subjects, their scores may be exempted for that year, and states must disclose to the public how many children have been left out of the reading test.

If nothing else this gives us a yearly way to track the number on non-Englsh speaking kids that enter our schools each year. Of course, it also gives our schools a way to continue to dummy-down our kids while "passing" No Child Left Behind standards. Some of you with Education backgrounds may be able to enlighten us further on this.

UB