No excuses?

Among the mantras of the new "ed reformers" is "no excuses."
"We know," the mantra goes, "that our kids don't have enough to eat at home, that some of them have unstable family lives, that some of them are still adjusting to speaking English, that there are all sort of things going on outside the school...but it doesn't matter. There are no excuses."

Uh, well, this report from the Detroit Free Press on lead begs to differ.

The data also show, for the first time in Detroit, a link between higher lead levels and poor academic performance. About 60% of DPS students who performed below their grade level on 2008 standardized tests had elevated lead levels.

Turns out that some of what happens outside of school comes in with the kids.