NCLB Free Zone
Is it just me or does the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act seem like a slow crawl toward irrelevence. OK, maybe that's a bit harsh.
But politics have stymied the effort to renew the nation's groundbreaking education law that aims to raise the academic bar and ensure high quality teaching in schools. As is often the case, the behind-the-scenes bickering and lobbying has trumped policy discussions about fairness and accountability for academic programs at schools.
This article in EdWeek takes aim at George Bush and the NEA (the nationwide teachers' union) as the prime culprits.
Here's an exerpt:
When Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., took over as chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee in January, he told audiences that reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act was doable. He occasionally appeared with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings at his side, promising that such a bill would clear the House this year.
With that goal now unreachable, Rep. Miller sounds pessimistic about the law’s prospects for renewal in 2008, and he is blaming President Bush.