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Editorial: New education blueprint must emphasize student progress

Sat., Jan. 17, 2015

The No Child Left Behind Act was enacted in 2002 and called for perfection by 2014. It came up for reauthorization in 2007, but Congress flunked its chance to write a more realistic education blueprint.

That’s likely to change this year, with congressional leaders from both parties, led by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., laying out their education reform priorities Tuesday. Shortly before that, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated the Obama administration’s goals.

Rewriting or replacing the law is of particular importance to Washington because the state is still subject to its absurd accountability measures. The feds rescinded the state’s waiver on compliance when the Legislature failed to tie teacher evaluations to student outcomes. As a result, about 92 percent of schools were labeled “failing,” and districts had to send letters to parents to inform them of this falsehood.

Included in this “fail mail” were schools that were doing generally well or had shown impressive improvement. The problem is the law calls for a 100 percent pass rate for students taking assessments in math and reading. The waivers were offered as an escape hatch.

So, now what?

First, the goal of perfection must be replaced with a different way to measure progress, with expectations less ambitious than perfection. Duncan and Murray support annual testing between grades 3 and 8 and one test in high school. Alexander, who was the education secretary under President George W. Bush, said states should have the option of fewer assessments.

Continued progress is imperative, especially in closing the achievement gap between low-income students and the rest. Districts should have the leeway to choose how that’s achieved, but they must continue to measure outcomes. Student performance should be a factor in evaluating teachers, principals and administrators. The Legislature should make this change.

The federal overhaul also should include a greater push for early education. Many states have moved ahead of the feds to provide access to a pre-kindergarten education. This is critical to closing the achievement gap because so many children arrive at kindergarten behind their peers and never catch up.

The myriad iterations of reform can leave the public skeptical. But schools are improving, achievement gaps are narrowing and dropout rates are declining. We can’t afford to let up, because our children are vying for careers in a global economy, and other nations have upped their game.

American students must keep pace – and in some areas catch up – to be competitive.

The public grew disenchanted with No Child Left Behind because it seemed to become a tool to punish educators rather than nourish students. Name the new bill More Students Prepared to Compete, and keep the focus there.