FairTest Reaction to State of the Union Proposals on No Child Left Behind

[Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>]

> From: "Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>
>
>
>
> FairTest  National Center for Fair & Open Testing
>
> For further information:
>
> Dr. Monty Neill   (617) 864-4810
>
> Bob Schaeffer   (239) 395-6773
>
> REACTION OF DR. MONTY NEILL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
> FAIRTEST: NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAIR & OPEN TESTING
> TO PRES. BUSH'S STATE OF THE UNION PROPOSALS ON
> THE "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" LAW
>
> President George Bush's State of the Union proposals to escalate the 
> failing test-and-punish strategy of the "No Child Left Behind" 
> (NCLB) law, as outlined by a White House policy memo 
> (<http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/print/education.html>http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/print/education.html), 
> rest on misinformation and ideologically skewed assumptions, not 
> evidence. Pres. Bush wants to continue pursuing dead-end policies 
> that have not improved educational quality, particularly for our 
> nation's most vulnerable children
>
> The facts demonstrate that NCLB is not a success. Key independent 
> indicators, including dropout rates, college admissions test scores, 
> and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results are 
> unchanged or only slightly improved. Narrowing of the racial 
> achievement gap has slowed since NCLB was implemented.
>
> Meanwhile, the law has turned many schools into test-coaching 
> programs, denying students the well-rounded, rich education all the 
> nation's children deserve. The Bush administration pretends that 
> minor changes in test scores in a few subjects is an adequate 
> substitute for real education.
>
> Now, the Pres. Bush proposes that all states report their NAEP 
> results along with scores on their local tests. But the NAEP 
> definition of "proficiency" was deemed flawed and too high by the 
> National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Education. 
> Making states look bad by comparing them to an unreasonable standard 
> will not improve education.
>
> Outside the Bush Administration, a broad consensus on how to 
> overhaul NCLB is emerging, as evidence by the Joint Organizational 
> Statement on NCLB, signed by more than 100 education, civil rights, 
> religious, disability and civic groups, including FairTest. It says, 
> "Overall, the law's emphasis needs to shift from applying sanctions 
> for failing to raise test scores to holding states and localities 
> accountable for making the systemic changes that improve student 
> achievement."
>
> The recommended changes to NCLB include:
>             - using multiple measures of student learning instead 
> of single test scores;
>             - expecting rates of improvement actually attained by 
> significant numbers of real schools, replacing the "adequate yearly 
> progress" scheme;
>             - providing substantial support for building the 
> capacity of schools to serve all students well, then holding them 
> accountable for making improvements; and
>             - increasing funding to support improvement efforts and 
> to enable all students eligible for Title I services to receive them.
>
> The Forum on Educational Accountability, a group working to 
> implement the Joint Statement, will release more detailed proposals 
> on capacity-building, assessment and accountability in the coming months.
>
> The Joint Statement is available at 
> <http://www.fairtest.org/>www.fairtest.org and at 
> <http://www.edaccountability.org/>www.edaccountability.org.