Rep. Miller sets the stage for the NCLB reauthorization

The key question for NSBA, Felton said, is “do the bills address the issues we raised and give us sufficient flexibility to make it work?”

If the proposed legislative fixes do not go far enough to make NCLB more workable, and the public education community sees the reauthorization bills as making things worse, there would be no need to push for getting the bills passed, Felton said. “In that case, the whole attempt to get the law reauthorized this year could fall apart.”

NSBA has been closely involved in  discussions with congressional leaders and has urged the committee chairs to include the more than 40 recommendations in the No Child Left Behind Improvement Act introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and six co-sponsors.

The key themes outlined by Miller do seem to align with NSBA’s recommendations. “We are optimistic but until we see specific language, we won’t know if we will be able to support it,” Felton said. Whether the law will be sufficiently funded also is of great concern to NSBA.

So far, 427 school districts have passed resolutions urging Congress to enact the improvements to NCLB supported by NSBA.

In a speech in Washington, D.C., July 30, Miller, one of the key architects of the original NCLB legislation, reiterated his commitment to the central goals of NCLB: to set higher standards for schools and students and to eliminate the achievement gap.

But, he said, “We didn’t get it all right when we enacted the law. Throughout our schools and communities, the American people have a very strong sense that [NCLB] is not fair, that it is not flexible, and that it is not funded.”

“And they are not wrong,” Miller continued. “The question is what we are going to do next.”

There won’t be enough votes in the House to continue NCLB “without making serious changes to it,” Miller said. “We want a bill that is fair and flexible -- that maintains the integrity of the law through accountability while responding to the legitimate concerns that have been raised.” Miller said the bill will include these provisions:

• States will be allowed to use a growth model to measure states’ and schools’ progress toward meeting student achievement over time.

In response to concerns that NCLB “has forced schools to narrow the curriculum on math and reading instruction at the expanse of history, art, social studies, music, and physical education,” Miller said, “we must help ensure that all students in all schools have access to a broad, rich curriculum.”

His bill will continue to emphasize reading and math skills, “but it will allow states to use more than their reading and math test results to determine how well schools and students are doing.” He cited graduation rates as an additional measure for high schools. He also said English language learners and students with disabilities “should be given tests that are fair and appropriate.”

• Miller’s bill “will encourage a rich and challenging learning environment” and “promote best practices and innovation.”

Miller said employers and colleges will be asked to “come together as stakeholders with the states to jointly develop more rigorous standards that meet the demands of both.”

He called for new assessments aligned with state standards that cover skills aimed at improving the nation’s competitiveness, such as problem solving and teamwork.

• To improve the quality of teachers, particularly for those who teach poor and minority students, the bill will support “performance pay for principals and teachers based on fair and proven models, teacher mentoring, teacher career ladders, and improved working conditions.”

• “The legislation will continue to hold schools accountable for students’ progress,” Miller said, but not all schools that need improvement should be lumped together.

“Schools with specific problems in specific areas should be allowed to use instructional interventions that are appropriate to their needs,” Miller said, and high-priority schools should receive more intensive assistance.

According to U.S. Education Department data, about 2,300 schools nationwide are either in restructuring or will be required to restructure next year, the Associated Press reported.

• Miller proposed adding “comprehensive steps to turn around low-performing middle and high schools,” along with uniform, accurate standards for measuring graduation rates.

• Finally, Miller called for “greater and sustained investments” in American education.

NSBA supports many of the proposed changes sought by Miller, including the use of growth models, improved test quality, multiple measures of academic progress, more flexible interventions to schools that need the most assistance, and increased funding.

In a letter to Miller, NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick noted that “research has concluded that growth is a more accurate measure of academic success, particularly for students who are traditionally at risk.”

In calling for better support for schools that need assistance, Resnick said that, under the current system, “schools that have been identified as ‘in need of improvement’ -- and subject to sanctions -- receive little additional technical or fiscal support that would improve their overall performance.”

Resnick urged Congress to address the high school drop­out crisis “cautiously and strategically.” Given the trem­endous amount of resources needed, he called for a separate funding stream “triggered by an appropriate increase to the Title I program.” With limited funding, “the major focus should be directed at students’ early years.”

During his speech, Miller said the bill is being drafted with bipartisan cooperation.

But Rep. Howard P. “Buck” Mc­Keon (R-Calif.), the ranking Republican on the committee, said “any attempts to weaken the law will be met with stiff resistance from House Republicans who have already joined with the civil rights community and business leaders in expressing concerns” that some of the Democratic proposals will “undermine transparency for parents and the ability to hold schools accountable for student performance.”

He was apparently referring to the NCLB Works Campaign, an effort to “strengthen” the law created by the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Education Trust, the National Council of La Raza, and other groups.

In addition to NSBA’s bill, dozens of other bills introduced in the past few months might play a role in the NCLB reauthorization.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) introduced legislation last month that closely mirrors the Bush administration’s proposals on NCLB, including extending tests in the high school grades.