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Educators Across the Web Reflect on NCLB Rewrite

We have and will spend much time listening to what policymakers believe is best for the future of education as the Senate and House get ready to get together to finalize legislation to overhaul No Child Left Behind.

But what exactly are educators thinking about the current reform changes passed in the Senate and House to be married together for the final legislation? Education World takes a look at different educators opinions across the web.

Some Optimism at Last

Educators are optimistic that education reform by way of rewriting the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Act is in the near future.

"In a change from earlier this year, 70 percent of education 'insiders' think a rewrite of the law will be signed by the end of President Barack Obama’s presidency," said Politico.com. 

 

Hopes for Reduced Testing

Teachers are on the ground floor when it comes to teaching for and administering standardized exams. They understand best what kind of effects the tests have on their students- and most don't have good things to say.

Many educators are standing behind the Senate's version of the NCLB rewrite because it explicitly aims to reduce testing.

"Stacey Caruso-Sharpe, a math teacher and vice president of the American Federation of Teachers in Amsterdam, said she appreciates that the bill shifts the focus from test scores to allow more freedom in choosing ways of measuring student success," according to The Times Union. 

Teachers in general are sick of replacing valuable instruction with instruction designed to teach to a test.

"To make sure students are learning skills they will need for the exam, [Kentucky middle school teacher Shanna Mills] said, she's eliminated creativity from her curriculum. Mills doesn't have time to have her kids make models of colonial towns, reenact Revolutionary War battles or research the Salem witch trials. She only gives multiple-choice tests because that's the format of the exam." 

Teachers are counting on lawmakers to reverse the testing culture that's gotten progressively worse since 2002, and many find that the amendments made to do so in the Senate's Every Child Achieves Act will do just that.

"Superficial Prohibitions" on Federal Government

Some educators, on the other hand, feel that neither the Senate nor the House rewrites do enough to scale back the federal government's hand in education.

"Emmett McGroarty , an American Principles Project’s education director, and Jane Robbins,a senior fellow at American Principles Project, argue against the bills to make a significant change because they do not up-end what has developed over the years of NCLB.

""Confronted with ECAA’s requirement that state standards align with Common Core-type standards, and with federally approved workforce and early-childhood standards, Alexander simply restated the multiple prohibitions the bill contains on the Secretary’s dictating specific standards. But as we have explained, the bill itself demands this alignment; the Secretary will not have to dictate anything," they said on Brietbart.com. 

"The bottom line is that Alexander is determined to give Barack Obama and Arne Duncan a bill they will like. They won’t like anything that reduces their power. Members of Congress got a pass on Common Core because they did not vote on it; they won’t get a pass on this."

Federal Policy Not Enough

David L. Hough, Ph.D., Professor and Dean, College of Education, Missouri State University, believes that federal policy is not enough to create an equal playing field in education and therefore not enough to provide quality education for all.

"What we need is legislation titled “Every Child Safe, Healthy & Supported to Do Well in School” (ECSHASDWIS). I know this will never fly, because the acronym is too hard to pronounce. Even so, until children are somehow, somewhere cared for and nurtured appropriately, schools simply cannot make anyone’s legislation successful," he said on News-Leader.com. 

Hough is not alone in his belief that new legislation does not do enough to help those currently struggling to get a quality education.

Big leaders in the education world released a joint statement declaring dismay that the Every Child Achieves Act does not do more to address this including the Education Trust and the National Center for Learning Disabilities:

"As Members of Congress reauthorize federal education laws affecting low income students, students of color, English Learners and students with disabilities, their most sacred responsibility is to improve the law’s effectiveness in improving opportunities and outcomes for these students. Without a clear expectation of action, Every Child Achieves does not yet meet that test.

Where Do You Stand?

Let us know how you feel about the current state of the No Child Left Behind overhaul by commenting with your thoughts below. 

 

Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

07/22/2015