Which of the following illustrates the best reason for why it can be difficult to achieve AYP?

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Chairman MILLER. Thank you very much.

Thank you again to all of you for your testimony. As I stated at the outset, this is intended to be more of a listening session than the traditional back and forth of the Congress, but I want to be sure that every member who has any questions or things they want to clarify is free to ask whatever questions you want. That doesn't mean we need all questions from every member, but on the points or the concerns that have been raised, on the top row, anyone?

Mr. Scott?

Mr. SCOTT. Thank you. I want to ask Mr. Podesta, on the dropout rate, we have a provision in there, if you have a high dropout rate, you don't make AYP. Is that not enough of an incentive? And, Mr. Chairman, let me just pose the question because we are getting answers, and we will never give members the opportunity

Chairman MILLER. Mr. Podesta is very concise.

Mr. SCOTT. Whether or not that is enough of an incentive; if not, we need to discuss that.

Ms. Messina, if we have the data on the teacher level and require the principals to use that, whether or not that would solve the problem that you have addressed on making sure each teacher can do his or her particular job?

Chairman MILLER. Mr. Payne?

Mr. PAYNE. Just quickly, Ms. Brown, being a former teacher, I wonder whether as you saw and noticed the improvement in the students' achievement, although they may have been moving on to other grades, did you find any difference in the attitude of the parents? Did they seem to catch on and feel that this is a kind of a winning thing or someone cares or that kind of thing?

As we know, in low-income areas, people are beaten down, they are tired, things are going wrong, they are not making it; and so you don't have the spirit that you have in places where people are not so beaten down. I am wondering if you noticed any change in the esprit de corps of the people.

Ms. BROWN. Yes, parents, along with staff, are very encouraging. They send students to school knowing that they are sending the students to highly qualified, highly skilled teachers; and although they may not able to do what is necessary at the home, they are assured that we are doing everything possible at school to assure that their children—the learning gap is being bridged.

It doesn't matter. They don't have to take the kids to another district; everything they need is right here. I think they are satisfied and very pleased with what we have been doing so far.

Chairman MILLER. Thank you. Mr. Hinojosa. Mr. HINOJOSA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman MILLER. I am sorry, let me go to the other side, are there any questions?

Mr. Hinojosa.

Mr. HINOJOSA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to compliment each one of the panelists, because you make some very good points, and I am going to limit my remarks to the first lady, Germaine Brown, in that I was impressed that 90 percent of your students are on the free lunch program and I think that you have killed that myth that children from low-income families cannot learn and that you all have made so much improvement in 2 or 3 years.