Representative Robert Andrews believes NCLB relies too narrowly on one test to measure student performance
During a recent meeting with New Jersey school district superintendents, U.S. Representative Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), a member of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee, has said he believes the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) relies too narrowly on one test to measure student performance. He is proposing four major changes to NCLB when it comes up for reauthorization later this year. He said he supports changing how student performance is measured. Calling test scores "imprecise measuring tools," Rep. Andrews favors changes to allow the tests to measure how students progress from one year to the next, instead of the current comparison of one year's fourth graders’ test scores to the next year's fourth graders. He says there are problems with measuring special-education students and those learning English. He is also concerned about the federal definition of what constitutes a "highly qualified" teacher, particularly in special education and middle schools. He contends NCLB "undervalues peer evaluation and experience and values tests and a major in college." Rep. Andrews argues superintendents and principals should have more say in who is highly qualified. Finally, he cited funding. There’s a $53 billion funding gap between what districts say they need to implement the law and what they get in federal funding. "We're not holding up our end of the bargain," Rep. Andrews said, noting that superintendents often have to cut staff and programs to meet the mandates of NCLB. Responding to a question about why NCLB sends kids to tutoring providers who are not required to meet the act’s "highly qualified" standards, Rep. Andrews said, "The present law is tilted toward the supplemental services provider and it should be the opposite," and added that he believes districts should be able to perform all remedial actions in-house if evaluated properly. In an interview, he also reiterated his support for changes in the law to require testing audits to check for cheating by districts. A state investigation concluded that suspiciously high test results at two Camden elementary schools in 2005 stemmed from "adult interference."
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Kristen A. Graham
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