"But what if the schools *are* failing them?"
Taking the tests won't help the ones that need the most help.
Charter schools can cherry pick students and they either don't admit or they toss out the ones that can't perform.
These are then left for the public schools to handle, except now they'll have a lot of trouble getting to a public school since the local one has been closed.
Going into foreign turf often exacerbates violence, further proving that these kids can't be taught.
So, it's military school for them or just plain no school; the new proposal is to end formal schooling in 10th grade for these incorrigibles.
Keep in mind too that when a school is closed, a local social space that can be used for meetings, adult education, etc., now becomes unavailable to the community.
If you're interested you really should look at the processes taking place in Oakland and Chicago, both ground zero for this thuggery.
I could forgive Obama for a lot, but not for this.
Joanna