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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

NCLB Act Could Face Alterations

By Hailey Heinz
Journal Staff Writer
      Many of the least popular things about the No Child Left Behind Act may be repealed when President Barack Obama puts his own stamp on the legislation.
    In a budget proposal released Monday, the president called for a $49.7 billion education act that would assess schools more flexibly and would reward growth in student achievement, even if it did not meet the stringent standards of the current act.
    Obama also signaled that he would abolish the original goal of 100 percent proficiency in math and reading nationwide by 2014. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had alluded to this possibility in a September speech in which he called the 2014 deadline a "utopian goal."
    The proposal also emphasizes "college and career readiness" as a goal for every high school student, while earlier incarnations of NCLB focused almost exclusively on math and reading skills.
    "As I traveled to 37 states on a listening and learning tour over the last year, I heard many complaints about the current system of accountability," Duncan said in a news release.
    Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks said the changes, which must be approved by Congress, would be a good start.
    "What I see on this that I like is the growth model," Brooks said. "Even though schools may not make the annual growth, they can be rewarded for making steps in the right direction. The former NCLB was all about punishment. I'm happy to see that this seems to be more a balance between reward and punishment."
    Brooks already has set targets for APS that aim to close the achievement gap and improve attendance and test scores, although Secretary of Education Veronica Garcia said last year those incremental goals would not meet the 2014 deadline.
    Brooks countered that his targets were realistic, while No Child Left Behind set schools up to fail.
    He called the new direction for NCLB "perfectly in alignment with what we've done here."
    "We sent all of our APS information to Arne Duncan, and they were very interested in the targets that we set here," he said. "I'm glad that the president is affirming our work here at APS."
    Garcia cautioned that Obama's proposals are still preliminary but said she is so far optimistic.
    She said she has always supported the accountability that is built into NCLB, but Obama's proposals bring an element of fairness that was missing before.
    "It's fair to look at growth, and it's fair to look at the same group of kids as they progress. And so bringing any kind of fairness to the system — morale-wise, I think you'll see more teachers on board. I'm glad they're not throwing the accountability baby out with the bath water."

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