CONTACT: Miguel Gonzalez   (202) 822-7823

July 27, 2006

NEA President Reg Weaver Urges Congress to Give States Flexibility in Measuring Student Progress in ESEA Reauthorization

NEA President Reg Weaver testifies before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.                Photo by Sandy Schaeffer

“We believe that accountability systems should reward success and support educators to help students learn,” Weaver said.  “And measuring student growth over time will be more helpful than the current snapshot approach, which measures student achievement on one day out of the year.”

Growth models track individual students’ test scores over time, comparing actual and expected rates of growth, as opposed to the current Adequate Yearly Progress method that compares consecutive classes of students. In the context of the No Child Left Behind law, growth models provide schools with the opportunity to more effectively measure if the same students show achievement gains over time as well as recognize improvement in student achievement on all points of the achievement scale.

“The implementation phase of No Child Left Behind has highlighted a critical void in assessing student progress—measuring student progress over time—and providing the resources and tools that educators need to get the job done,” Weaver said. “In our opinion, it does not recognize that children are human beings, not cardboard cut-outs, and that teaching them is both an art and a science.”

Recalling his own teaching experience, Weaver noted, “As a veteran classroom teacher, I would welcome the opportunity to use my students’ test results to guide my instructional practices. But I seriously question the logic of any system that mandates tests, but does not also mandate that the results of those tests be given in time to make any instructional adjustments.” 
 
“And if someone had then told me that my class the next year would be tested in the spring and that their scores would be compared to my students from last year, I would have said there was something inherently wrong with the system.”

Weaver also stated that including growth models in No Child Left Behind’s accountability system would not mean abandoning the requirement that all students read and complete math problems on grade level.  In fact, he said, the opposite is true.

“Growth models hold greater promise to demonstrate whether a student is learning and provide data to educators in order to inform their instruction,” Weaver said. “Better data will show when one instructional technique is not working and will allow the teacher to make adjustments to meet student needs.

“Growth models also reward success in teaching and learning by giving schools credit both for moving a child from below basic to basic as well as moving a child from proficient to advanced,” Weaver said.

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.8 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.