For nearly nine years, school districts across the nation have followed the rules of No Child Left Behind, the law that requires schools to administer a state-wide standardized test. Publically funded school must then make Adequate Yearly Progress in test scores each year.
But on Tuesday, March 15, President Obama called for the repeal of No Child Left Behind while speaking at a middle school in Arlington, VA. According to the Associated Press, President Obama said four out of five schools are tagged as failures this year under No Child Left Behind.
“That’s an astonishing number,” President Obama told AP. “We know that four out of five schools in this country aren’t failing. So what we’re doing to measure success and failure is out of line.”
President Obama’s remarks immediately incited a debate on the nature of education policy in the United States. Rep. John Kline (R-MN) remarked on the importance of dealing effectively with educational reform.
In a statement released by the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Kline, chairman, said, “We need to take the time to get this right—we cannot allow an arbitrary timeline to undermine quality reforms that encourage innovation, flexibility and parental involvement.”
Rep. Kline also said the status quo is failing both students and taxpayers.
“It is time we reconsidered the role of the federal government in our schools,” Rep. Kline said in another released statement by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Dr. Carrie Luttrell, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, oversees curriculum development and implementation, as well as testing in Rockwood. She said it’s difficult to predict whether No Child Left Behind will be repealed.
“This conversation has been 1.5 years in the making,” Dr. Luttrell said. “Both political parties want certain priorities in a new policy, so it’s uncertain whether No Child Left Behind can be successfully repealed and replaced.”
While waiting for the outcome, Dr. Luttrell said Rockwood has continually focused on what students need now. Even if No Child Left Behind is repealed, big changes are not anticipated.
“Our district is a high-performing district, and MHS is a high-performing school,” Dr. Luttrell said. “Our curriculum is already written to national standards; we continually meet or exceed those standards. We already hold ourselves accountable to students and the community.”
Dr. Luttrell estimated likely changes would take place in Adequate Yearly Progress, the system that regulates standardized testing.
Philip Liu, senior, completed his ALAR/P II project on United States foreign policy and educational achievement.
“I agree with No Child Left Behind in theory,” Liu said. “But there are better ways to execute it, and there are better alternatives. For one, we could use money more efficiently. For another, we could institutionalize merit-based award pay for teachers.”
Liu said many mediocre or incompetent teachers are kept simply because of tenure.
“Still, I don’t think No Child Left Behind will be repealed,” Liu said. “President Obama has too much stuff to do and he has to pick what to push through.”