NCLB Reauthorization Raises Practical and “Ten
Moral” Concerns
The No Child Left Behind Act cannot achieve its goals
unless the federal government provides more resources
to states, say top state education officials. In a policy
statement urging lawmakers to move beyond “prescriptive
compliance requirements” when they reauthorize
the law in 2007, the Council
of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), an organization
that comprises the heads of state departments of education
and public instruction across the country, said the
federal government must provide states with the resources
necessary to meet NCLB’s goals. “Ten Moral
Concerns” about NCLB, from the National Council
of Churches, also calls for changes to the federal law,
to address needs for justice and opportunity.
Federal Resources and Support Needed
CCSSO made several recommendations to Congress in three
broad areas for reform:
- Increased funding and state freedom: In
order to achieve successful reform, states must: develop
challenging curriculums in collaboration with universities
and employers; develop assessment systems that can
guide educators in developing teaching practices;
strengthen teacher quality; create data systems that
can allow for “data-informed decision making”;
and develop accountability systems that accurately
measure school and district effectiveness. States
need both additional financial support and significant
flexibility in implementing these programs. For accountability
systems, states should be allowed to use alternatives
such as growth models or multiple measures of progress.
- Capacity-Building: Congress must provide
support for states to help schools build the capacity
for improved learning. States need to be able to provide
technical assistance to schools, support interventions
at schools and districts, and collect and use school
data in order to improve accountability. In addition,
NCLB should provide states with the resources to develop
curriculums, provide professional development for
teachers, and provide various academic and after-school
programs for students.
- Innovation and research: The federal government
must invest in more “meaningful research”
into successful methods of improving student achievement.
In addition, it should apply and test this research
by funding additional pilot programs, and it should
create opportunities for states to interact, collaborate,
and learn from each others’ experiences.
With a broader focus for NCLB and increased federal
support and resources, the CCSSO argues, states can
move beyond the narrow goal of “leaving no child
behind” and reach for the greater goal of making
“every child a graduate – prepared for postsecondary
education, work, and citizenship in the 21st century.”
“A Matter of Justice”
Concern about the No Child Left Behind Act is not,
however, simply about proper funding and best practices,
says the National
Council of Churches (NCC) Committee on Public Education
and Literacy. The Act raises a number of strong moral
concerns, which makes amending it “a matter of
justice.”
The NCC has published what it calls “Ten
Moral Concerns in the Implementation of the No Child
Left Behind Act,” a list of criticisms about
the justice and morality of the law. NCLB, according
to the list, holds students to impossibly high standards
and thereby undermines support for public education,
threatening our democracy. In addition, its method of
labeling schools and subgroups within schools as “needing
improvement” – or, as the media more commonly
reports, “failing” – may cause an
increase in the dropout rate among students so labeled.
Furthermore, the list claims that the law’s implementation
is inimical to its own goal of narrowing the achievement
gap. It sanctions low-performing schools for problems
beyond the school’s control and encourages students
of greater means to move out of poorly performing schools,
exacerbating racial and economic segregation. The final
concern on the list accuses Congress of moral negligence
in failing to provide enough funding to implement the
reforms of the law.
Hoping to encourage Congress to address these problems,
the organization Faithful America has organized a
letter-writing campaign around the ten moral concerns.
It provides a website that allows parents and educators
to share personal stories with their elected officials
about any one of the ten concerns on the list.
The debate over reauthorization of NCLB could become
a long and passionate one, and parents, educators, and
state officials will be working to remind Congress that
NCLB is not just about test scores and school rankings.
Reforming NCLB, NCC argues, is a matter of justice and
compassion, because all children deserve educational
opportunity and a chance of future success.
The CCSSO and NCC statements are two of many proposals
being developed and published in time for the anticipated
reauthorization, not only by educators but by a wide
range of organizations concered about devil rights,
access to the American dream, justice, and other equity
issues.
Prepared by Matthew Samberg, November 8, 2006
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