More Hoops for You?
Did you manage to convince Uncle Sam you’re “highly qualified” under No Child Left Behind (NCLB)? Some people think that was too easy.
A commission organized by the Aspen Institute has issued a raft of recommendations for changing NCLB. A key proposal: More hoops for educators to jump through. Students would have to show testing gains big enough to put their teachers in the top 75 percent of those statewide. So, if you try to help students who have big problems and little other support, and they don’t learn as fast as more fortunate students, it’s your fault. Parents are notified and you could be driven out of the profession.
Among the commission’s other proposals: More tests and more ways for schools to fail, including a new 12th-grade assessment. The conservative Fordham Foundation calls the recommendations “a disaster.” “NCLB on steroids,” says the public interest group Fairtest.
NEA President Reg Weaver wants members to urge their representatives to oppose these commission recommendations. You can send a message here .
NEA has proposed its own positive agenda for changing NCLB and reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
See the full Aspen proposal at www.nclbcommission.org .
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