Leaving No Local Child Behind

Executive Director, Council of the Great City Schools

In Washington, slogans sometimes take priority over substance. Case in point: "No Child Left Behind."

All of the 50 million children who attend our nation's public schools deserve a well-rounded, high-quality education. For a variety of reasons, they don't all get one. Our job as educators, public servants, parents, union leaders and community leaders is to work, constantly, to change that. We won't do it by making a slogan our answer or by making unrealistic requirements our substance.

We have a chance, with NCLB reauthorization, to get the law right. Not that all of it was wrong. The American Federation of Teachers supports NCLB's disaggregation of student information, which sheds light on the achievement of disadvantaged and minority students. We also support the law's goal of ensuring that students graduate ready for work and post-secondary education.

But if we are going to help all students, we need an accountability system that correctly identifies schools in need, research-backed assistance for struggling schools and a more rational approach to testing. Right now, we don't have that. We have a definition of accountability that overidentifies and misidentifies struggling schools, making it difficult to target resources to schools truly in need of intervention. We have one-size-fits-all solutions and, in some cases, a narrowing of the curriculum to math, reading and test preparation.

A bad law won't change our members' commitment to their students, but a good law -- one that puts students ahead of slogans -- will make a world of difference in our nation's classrooms.

Edward J. McElroy

President, American Federation of Teachers

The No Child Left Behind Act has led to dramatic improvements in teaching and learning in all Prince George's County public schools. This law has made the previously invisible visible and every student count. But, if we are to enable even greater progress for all children, the reauthorization of NCLB must address several critical issues.

Current testing methods do not gauge or quantify growth over time. To make sure students are keeping up, we must track their progress as they move from grade to grade and provide support when needed.

The revised NCLB should also address issues specific to multi-lingual and special education populations. Students who join us speaking little or no English don't necessarily have problems with math, but they may have trouble reading the English version of a math problem. NCLB should hold us accountable for these students and their subject mastery, but first it should give us time to work on their English proficiency. Similar challenges exist among our students with learning disabilities. NCLB must align itself with the Individuals with Disabilities Educating Act and allow for individualized learning programs before labeling students as "failing."

Finally, NCLB is correct to mandate that all students be taught by a "high quality" teacher. Accountability does not end at the K-12 schoolhouse. But the pool of teaching candidates is shrinking, particularly in special education, math and science. NCLB should be careful not to limit our ability to recruit adequate numbers of qualified instructors in these critical need areas.

Reauthorize NCLB, but with the changes needed to continue ensuring that all children learn at high levels.

John Deasy

Superintendent, Prince George's County Schools