Congress should take time to get NCLB right
By James P. Testerman
More than 50 GOP members of the U.S. House and Senate are supporting legislation that could dramatically alter the No Child Left Behind Act, by allowing states to opt out of its testing mandates.
NCLB, the national education law enacted by Congress as the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001, established laudable goals -- high standards and accountability for the learning of all children, regardless of their background or ability. But it has been criticized -- with good reason -- for its heavy reliance on standardized tests to measure student learning and consistent under funding, with a five-year shortfall of about $40 billion.
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The Bush Administration, through U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, has advocated for making only minor changes to NCLB. Sen. Ted Kennedy, one of the principal authors of the 2001 law, has argued that the GOP bill would severely undercut NCLB, and is promoting an alternative agenda for reforming and funding the law.
While the Pennsylvania State Education Association supports many of the changes that Senator Kennedy believes are needed, we believe it’s more important for Congress not to fast-track NCLB’s reauthorization. Congress needs to take the time to get NCLB right this time.
As PSEA’s vice president, I’ve participated this year in a statewide task force of teacher members working to bring about positive changes to NCLB. I’ve heard first-hand the frustrations of teachers across Pennsylvania with the law and its obsessive focus on high-stakes testing.
In an essay published on the National Education Association website, elementary teacher Jean Eller of the Wattsburg Area School District wrote, “What is happening to early childhood education in our country? Once upon a time, the kindergarten classroom was filled with singing, laughing, speaking, listening, doing artwork ... and now, since NCLB, the story has changed.”
Jean’s and many other teachers’ “NCLB stories” can be found at www.nea.org.
Teachers from Pennsylvania and across the nation were largely ignored in the development and implementation of NCLB. Now, we are asking Congress to listen to the practitioners in the classroom, and fashion solutions that meet the needs of the children who attend our public schools.
These solutions should include use of more than test scores to measure student learning and school performance. Multiple measures of student learning and school effectiveness should be employed instead of the current law’s one-day snapshot based solely on standardized tests.
Schools that show progress over time to improve student achievement at all levels should be rewarded. Individual students’ needs -- such as special education and English language learners -- should be recognized. Class sizes should be reduced.
Congress should increase the number of highly qualified teachers in our schools. This can be done by providing financial incentives to teachers who teach in hard-to-staff schools, and allowing teachers who have achieved certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to be deemed “highly qualified.”
Congress can also improve NCLB by providing flexibility for teachers of multiple subjects, including special education and rural educators.
Our association has consistently expressed support for NCLB's goals -- raising student achievement, closing achievement gaps, and providing every child with a qualified teacher -- that are perfectly in sync with our own belief that great public schools are a basic right for every child. But our members are adamant that the law must be fundamentally changed and that the President and the Congress must provide the necessary resources if NCLB is to achieve its goals.
James P. Testerman is a middle school science teacher currently on leave from the Central York School District while he serves his elected term as vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
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