March 14, 2010

No Child Left Behind

The federal government should help all public school students who want to go to college to have the opportunity – with federal government help if necessary -- according to President Barack Obama in his regular Saturday morning radio-television-Internet remarks.

Mr. Obama proposed that the “No Child Left Behind law should be overhauled” by a new, school accountability system that would be in place within four years.

“Under these guidelines, schools that achieve excellence -- or show real progress – will be rewarded.

“And local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down.”

TEACHERS FIRE BACK

Obama wants to drop the “No Child” label and reshape the law without scrapping it entirely.

However, as Nick Anderson, columnist for The Washington Post, points out: “That approach drew immediate fire from teachers unions which have been among the foremost critics of the testing program begun under President George W. Bush.”

American Federation of Teachers president, Randi Weingarten, says Obama’s plan “appears to place 100 percent of responsibility on educators but gives them zero percent authority.”

National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel said the plan “does too little to help teachers when budget shortages are putting tens of thousands in jeopardy of layoffs in the coming school year.”

FALL-SHORT PLAN

Administration officials said the president’s plan would jettison some dated remedies for schools that fall short of targets, require states to ensure that students are on a path to “college and career readiness” by 2020 – and clamp down on the lowest performing schools as never before.

The plan would retain annual testing in reading and math – but raise expectations for students and place more importance on academic growth than the law’s current pass-fail approach.

The president had telegraphed a stringent accountability policy on March 1, when he expressed support for a decision to fire the staff of a struggling high school in Rhode Island -- enraging the teachers union.

However, Obama pledged in the Saturday address to treat teachers “like the professionals they are.”

REWRITE THE LAW

Anderson points out that Obama’s proposal seeks to guide Congress as lawmakers embark on a bipartisan effort to rewrite the law enacted in 2002.

House and Senate committees have held hearings on the expansion of public charter schools and the lagging performance of U.S. students on international tests.

Several states competing this year for federal grants have proposed to tie teacher-evaluation to student achievement and take other steps toward performance pay.

On Wednesday, governors and state schools chiefs proposed common academic standards in math and English that seem on track for adoption in many states.

New standards would drive new textbooks, curriculum and teacher-training across the country.

GAPS AND MORE GAPS

Obama’s plan would preserve core elements in the “No Child Left Behind” program.  States would still test students every year in grades 3 through 8.

Once in high school, test scores would still be reported in detail for subgroups of students, to ensure that racial, ethnic and other achievement gaps are exposed.

Ay, there’s the rub!

The gate is still open for political flim-flan.

When a feller sez, “It ain’t the money, but  the principle of the thing – it’s the money.

--Ken Hubbard

No matter what happens, there is always someone who knew it would.

At any given time, there are more important people in the world than important jobs for them.

Character is what you are when nobody is looking.

By Lindsey Wilger Williams, retired newspaper publisher and syndicated columnist