CONTACT: Miguel A. Gonzalez  (202) 822-7823 

August 4, 2006 

NEA Outlines Role of NCLB
in Preparing Students for College and Beyond

Public school teacher and NEA Executive Committee member outlines areas for improving NCLB and  principles that should guide high school reform in Aspen Institute testimony.

WASHINGTON—Becky Pringle, a science teacher from Pennsylvania and member of the National Education Association Executive Committee, testified today at the sixth and final roundtable discussion hosted by the Aspen Institute No Child Left Behind Commission. Pringle discussed critical high school improvements needed to prepare students for college and beyond, and four key principles for designing comprehensive accountability systems in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which is scheduled for reauthorization in 2007.    No Child Left Behind is the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. 

The Aspen Institute NCLB Commission conducted a series of hearings in an effort to gather information that would help to improve the law. The commission, after a year of hearings, analysis and research, will report its recommendations to Congress and the Bush Administration in early 2007. This is the fifth time an NEA representative has testified before the commission.

“It is imperative that America’s students leave high school equipped with the high-level thinking, learning and global understanding skills—as well as the sophisticated information, communication, and technology literacy competencies—to live and work in an increasingly interconnected 21^st century global community,” said Becky Pringle, in her testimony. “A properly designed curriculum, coupled with a flexible, comprehensive and improved assessment and accountability system, will strengthen America ’s high schools.”

Pringle pointed out six critical areas and four key principles that should drive high school reform in the upcoming reauthorization of ESEA.

The critical areas are:

• Closing the gaps in student achievement and graduation rates
• Designing broad, relevant and challenging curricula
• Modernizing facilities, and providing new technology and up-to-date materials
• Increasing student engagement and training advisors, mentors and counselors
• Focusing on recruitment and retention of high-quality educators
• Eliminating Adequately Yearly Progress sanctions and labels

In addition, Pringle suggested four principles as guides for designing comprehensive accountability programs:

• Incentives are better than mandates in producing change.
• Increased student achievement should encompass more than just increased test scores. It should also reflect deep and broad learning.
• Teachers must play a central role in school reform efforts because of their first hand knowledge of their students and schools.
• Rather than starting from scratch to reinvent schools, it makes more sense to graft thoughtful reforms onto those healthy elements of the present system.

“Within this framework of principles,” Pringle said, “high school reform should include making sure that we are measuring the relevant skills; allow states the flexibility to design systems that produce results; use multiple measures such as local assessments and teacher-designed classroom assessments designed over time; allow use of growth models; include common sense flexibility for students with special needs; involve educators in planning; and effectively address dropout rates.”  

Pringle also pointed out the lack of adequate funding for high schools under ESEA.

Under Title I, 79 percent of funds go to elementary and pre-K programs. Indeed, only between five and 10 percent of all high schools receive any Title I funds. Most other ESEA programs are also targeted or limited to elementary schools.  And, those few programs targeted to high schools—such as smaller learning communities, school counselors, and drop-out prevention—are all severely underfunded and face additional funding cuts or elimination.

“While we strongly support increased resources for high schools and their students, we oppose doing so by cutting funding for current programs, as the President has proposed,” testified Pringle. “His budget for fiscal year 2007 included a new comprehensive high school reform program. We support many of the elements of the proposal, such as assessing each 8^th-grade students’ needs to determine necessary high school supports and programs. However, the President’s budget proposed to fund that initiative by eliminating funding for vocational education as well as for programs such as GEAR-UP and Upward Bound. And we are pleased that Congress is on track to reject such efforts.”

“It’s important to remember that our members have been working very hard to meet the stated goals of No Child Left Behind,” said Pringle. “That’s because they firmly embrace the fundamental belief that great public schools are a basic right for every child, and including these principles in high school reform, as well as addressing the critical areas of improvement in the context of ESEA reauthorization should go long way in ensuring this basic right.”

Ms. Pringle's  complete testimony is available online here .

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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.