Talking Points

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

 Erase, Rewrite and Reauthorize!
Reauthorizing ESEA/NCLB

Talking Points are the way politicians and citizen lobbies alike summarize their
message. CTA's message on ESEA/NCLB includes four main points:

  * Use More than Test Scores to Measure Student and School Success

  * Use Growth Models that Recognize School Progress and Student Needs

  * Provide Assistance and Resources, Not Sanctions

  * Reduce Class Sizes, Provide other Proven Reforms that Improve Student
    Learning

Some of the examples below are specific to California, but the main points apply
nationwide.

Use More than Test Scores to Measure Student and School Success

* ESEA/NCLB must include multiple measures of student learning and school success
instead of the current one-day snapshot based solely on standardized test scores.
The snapshot approach is an unfair, inaccurate and misleading measure of student
achievement.
* Additional measures of success could include using attendance rates, graduation
rates, a rigorous curriculum, and the number of students participating in honors
or advanced placement courses.
* Time spent on testing and test preparation has decimated important programs
like art, music, foreign languages and physical education, and has limited the
scope and depth of instruction during regular class time.

Use Growth Models that Recognize School Progress and Student Needs

* Erase the one-size-fits-all approach of No Child Left Behind that requires all
students to learn in the same way and at the same rate. We all know every child
learns differently. The law must recognize the individual needs of students and
schools.
* Rewrite ESEA/NCLB to allow states to implement growth models that measure
changes in student performance and give schools credit for making progress over
time. For example, schools that improve student achievement from below basic to
basic, basic to proficient, or proficient to advanced should be acknowledged as
making progress.
* ESEA/NCLB should provide common sense flexibility in assessing test scores from
both students with disabilities and English Learners. Currently, schools are
often unfairly penalized even though these students are working hard and making
progress.

Provide Assistance and Resources, Not Sanctions

* No Child Left Behind sets up schools to fail. This year NCLB labeled one out of
every five California public schools as failing. Instead of punishing schools, we
need a system that provides assistance and resources to help all students and
schools succeed.
* The current one-size-fits-all approach to education hurts all children and
pushes struggling students even further behind. According to a study by the
Harvard Civil Rights Project, NCLB has not helped narrow the achievement gap and
has shortchanged schools that serve predominantly disadvantaged, minority
students with an over reliance on sanctions rather than assistance.
* NCLB forces schools to waste time and money on bureaucracy, paperwork and
standardized testing, rather than providing resources to reduce class sizes and
to attract and retain quality educators in every classroom.
* The President and Congress have broken their promise of funding and support,
making NCLB a federally mandated burden on local school districts. The shortfall
in promised federal support since 2001 now exceeds $55 billion. It?s wrong for
Congress to make additional demands of our schools without providing the
resources to meet those demands.

Reduce Class Sizes, Provide other Proven Reforms that Improve Student Learning

* ESEA/NCLB should focus on reforms that work. Congress should restore and
enhance the federal class size reduction program, with priority given to our
schools of greatest need.
* California has some of the largest class sizes in the country and ranks 49th in
the number of teachers per student. Research shows that smaller class sizes
improve student learning and significantly close the achievement gap.
* ESEA/NCLB should provide financial incentives to attract and retain teachers in
hard-to-staff schools, as well as resources to provide quality training to
teachers and paraprofessionals.
* ESEA/NCLB should encourage and provide resources to increase parental and
family involvement in our schools.


George Sheridan