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

May 15, 2008

McCain Vision for Public Schools Fails To Address the Test, Label and Punish Regime Established by Bush Administration Under No Child Left Behind

WASHINGTON—Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) today outlined his vision for public schools in America. His laundry list of wishes fails to address what should be a top priority—what to do about No Child Left Behind. The silence is deafening as he neglects to mention what he would do about the law and for the millions of educators, students and schools affected by the test, label and punish regime of Bush’s No Child Left Behind.

The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Reg Weaver:

"Sen. McCain's vision for public schools fails to address the 800-pound gorilla in the classroom: No Child Left Behind. All of us know that a single, high-stakes test can't determine the success of a student, teacher or school. Unfortunately, he missed a prime opportunity to outline how he would tackle the law's reauthorization and reduce the negative impact of one-size-fits-all testing on millions of educators, parents and children.

"Instead, McCain continues to believe that promoting 'competition' by supporting charter and private schools is the answer, rather than providing public school students with the tools, resources and support they need to succeed."

For additional information about NEA, please visit: www.nea.org.

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty,
education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators
and students preparing to become teachers.