While educators might be reeling from adjustments they've had to make for NCLB, they better get used to it, said Dr. G. Thomas Houlihan, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). He called NCLB, "The tip of the iceberg." Included: NCLB provisions that could be revised, and those that likely won't.

For educators already rattled by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act mandates, hold onto your desks: more and bigger waves of change are on their way, according to Dr. G. Thomas Houlihan, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

"If you think you've gone through change so far, you ain't seen nothing yet," Houlihan told a large crowd at the Association for School Curriculum Development (ASCD) conference in April 2005. "NCLB is the tip of the iceberg."

A NEW MISSION

Before starting his presentation, "NCLB: Current Strengths, Challenges, and Future Direction," Dr. Houlihan, a teacher and administrator for 30 years, told the audience he was not taking a position on NCLB, but for those who didn't like what he had to say, "Don't shoot the messenger."

NCLB was passed in January 2001, with the stated goal of improving U.S. schools by requiring greater accountability from students and teachers. Among the law's provisions are testing students in grades 3 to 8, linking funding to a school's adequate yearly progress, and guidelines for highly qualified teachers and paraprofessionals.

"The mission of public education has changed overnight; now the mission is high quality for all," Dr. Houlihan said. "The number one challenge across the country is to meet the requirements of this federal legislation. This is like a tsunami hitting education; it's a wave hitting people almost every day, overwhelming them."

While it's too early to attribute increased test scores to NCLB, studies show that NCLB is making a difference in student performance, according to Dr.Houlihan. "But the question is, will there be enough funding to meet the needs of all kids?"

NO, IT'S NOT GOING AWAY

One audience member asked Dr. Houlihan if the picture of a sunset at the beginning of his Power Point presentation was a sign that NCLB would not last long.

But for those wishing that NCLB would quietly fade into the sunset, Dr. Houlihan offered little hope.

"NCLB is not going away," Dr. Houlihan predicted. Doing away with legislation is much harder than getting it passed, he noted. Adding to the law's staying power is that it received support from both parties when it passed and its goal is to help all children.

"NCLB has been described as a set of conservative strategies to achieve a liberal cause," he said. "It's an all-kids agenda."

Politicians also are acutely aware of growing economic competition from other countries, and read about the gap between the skills of high school graduates and the requirements of employers, and feel they must do something about it, Dr. Houlihan said.

The achievement gap between subgroups of students is a key issue at the federal level, he added.

"The overriding issue is the performance gap between various subgroups of students in schools," Dr. Houlihan said. "There is enormous interest in this in Washington."

Besides the emphasis on tracking the performance of different groups of students, Dr. Houlihan predicted that the requirements for teacher qualifications and school choice would remain in the law.

WHAT MIGHT CHANGE?

The U.S. Department of Education must find common-sense solutions to some of the provisions states are challenging, noted Dr. Houlihan. These include changing the percentage of special education students (currently it is only 1 percent) who can be exempted from state testing; testing and meeting the needs of English-language learners; and clarifying what adequate yearly progress (AYP) measures.

Challenges to the law also are increasing. The Utah state legislature voted to reject parts of NCLB, which could mean a loss of federal funding. "If they do, it will open the doors for other states," Dr. Houlihan said.

Connecticut education officials have sought, and been denied, an exemption from testing students in grades 3, 5, 7, arguing that the tests in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 are adequate. The state has filed a lawsuit challenging the federal law, contending that it will unfairly cost state and local taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Other states are watching the confrontation closely.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Education has shown flexibility in administering other provisions of the law, according to Dr. Houlihan.

NO STOPPING REFORM

But the call for reform is only getting louder, he said. "Across all spectrums, we're seeing expectations of quality we haven't seen before," he said. "NCLB was an attempt by school leaders to come to grips with school reform. It was an enormous bipartisan issue."

Singapore, for example, ranks number one in the world in math, and number three in science, but its educators continue to meet to talk about ways to improve education, according to Dr. Houlihan.

At the same time, many U.S. educators see their schools as exceptions to the rule, Dr. Houlihan said. After visiting 48 states and talking with hundreds of educators about the federal law, he said he heard the same misgivings expressed about NCLB everywhere he went:

• "We are different."
• "You don't teach our kids."
• "Our kids have too many problems."
• "I've never seen kids like ours make AYP."

NCLB also is exacerbating the constant tensions between state and federal education agencies. The entities clash over who pays for what, whether there is adequate funding, and Constitutional questions about jurisdiction. These clashes will continue to grow as the growing federal deficit means that education budgets likely will take a hit, according to Dr. Houlihan.

"It could come down to what courts decide about NCLB," he added.

WHAT CAN EDUCATORS DO?

While these scenarios are playing out, educators must get more involved in the reform process, according to Dr. Houlihan.

"How do we design a system of education that provides high-quality for all, or do we?" he asked. "If you people, who are the best in the business, are not discussing that, no one will. Educators tend to react rather than be proactive.

"We are not sufficiently uncomfortable yet to demand change. As changes come, the biggest problem will be adults adjusting to change," he continued. "How do we take a system of education that has operated a certain way for more than 100 years and transform it into a system for all? Schools now are full of kids from different backgrounds and experiences."

Right now, the quality of education in a school often stems from the personality of the principal or groups of teachers, according to Houlihan. To make substantive, lasting changes in the quality of education, the system needs to be reviewed.

"I don't see an easy way to address this in a long-term way the way schools currently are operating," he continued. "To have accountability work, you have to have accountability at all levels. There has to be accountability throughout the system. As long as we are only focused on outcomes, we're not addressing the whole system. So far, we haven't seen anyone looking at the whole system."