Obama Administration Seeks Overhaul of NCLB

President Obama  is seeking sweeping changes in the Bush-era's No Child Left Behind law.  In particular, the Administration plans to rewrite the law’s system for rating schools based on student test, scores known as Adequate Yearly Progress, with a program that more fairly assesses a school's progress.

The New York Times covered this story twice this week.  On Monday, the Times reported:

The education law has been praised for focusing attention on achievement gaps, but it has also generated tremendous opposition, especially from educators, who contend that it sets impossible goals for students and schools and humiliates students and educators when they fall short. The law has, to date, labeled some 30,000 schools as “in need of improvement,” a euphemism for failing, but states and districts have done little to change them. 

AYP is the equivalent of a pass-fail report card that "administration officials say fails to differentiate among chaotic schools in chronic failure, schools that are helping low-scoring students improve and high-performing suburban schools that nonetheless appear to be neglecting some low-scoring students."

"Instead, under the administration’s proposals, a new accountability system would divide schools into more categories, offering recognition to those that are succeeding and providing large new amounts of money to help improve or close failing schools."

On Tuesday, the Times reported that Education Secretary announced the proposed changes:  

“We want accountability reforms that factor in student growth, progress in closing achievement gaps, proficiency towards college and career-ready standards, high school graduation and college enrollment rates,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in announcing the proposed changes. “We know that’s a lot to track, but if we want to be smarter about accountability, more fair to students and teachers and more effective in the classroom, we need to look at all of these factors.”

Under the current NCLB Law,  there is a 2014 deadline by which all  schools are required to bring every student to proficiency in reading and math.  Secretary Duncan had called the deadline "a utopian goal", however it is not clear yet if the deadline will be eliminated or not.  

I think it is very good news that Obama Administration is seeking to overhaul NCLB.  Our entire educational focus for the past eight years has been a thumbs up or down approach based on a three day test.  The effect of this law has been far reaching into our teachers' and children's daily lives.  NCLB has been a powerful law because it has put the spotlight on achievement gaps, but NCLB has given schools little,  other than a "failing" label,  to help close the gap.  No doubt, testing is necessary because it provides a quantifiable snapshot of what children are learning.   However, it is  just that a snapshot.  It is not the whole picture and most educators I speak with know that.