Unfunded mandates frustrate superintendents and principals

11/25/03 -- Superintendents and principals are drowning in a sea of underfunded local, state, and federal mandates, and most of them believe major changes are needed to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

These are the major findings of a report released Nov. 19 by Public Agenda.

According to Rolling Up Their Sleeves: Superintendents and Principals Talk About What's Needed to Fix Public Schools, 93 percent of superintendents and 88 percent of principals say their district has experienced "an enormous increase in responsibilities and mandates without getting the resources necessary to fulfill them."

As one superintendent puts it in the report: "Some items are well intended, [but] most lawmakers don't have a clue. . . . I really don't think they read most of them."

Eighty-nine percent of superintendents and 88 percent of principals call NCLB an "unfunded mandate." Sixty-one percent of superintendents and 65 percent of principals say the law "will require many adjustments before it can work." Superintendents in large districts are much more likely to support the law's key components than those in small districts.

Eighty-three percent of superintendents and 65 percent of principals say they are obligated to spend far too much of their budgets on special education programs -- including legal fees, paperwork, and compliance.

Nearly nine in 10 superintendents and eight in 10 principals say special education laws give parents "a sense of entitlement" and make them "too quick to threaten legal action to get their way."

Teacher tenure is also a sore spot. Most superintendents and principals (80 percent and 67 percent) say getting rid of a terrible teacher is "difficult but doable." Nearly a third of principals (30 percent) call it "virtually impossible."

The study strongly suggests that school leaders were working hard to raise academic standards and strengthen accountability even before NCLB. Sixty-three percent of superintendents say student achievement is the biggest part of how they evaluate their principals.

Eighty-three percent of superintendents and 75 percent of principals report they are more focused on curriculum, teaching, mentoring, and professional development than ever before.

Large majorities of superintendents and principals (83 percent and 76 percent) report their districts have been making real efforts to close the achievement gap between minority and white students.

Fully 72 percent of superintendents believe they should be held accountable for standardized test scores at the district level. But only 41 percent of principals believe they should be accountable for students' test scores in their schools.

Despite strong support for standards and accountability, the report says school leaders have "complicated, ambivalent feelings" about NCLB.

Fewer than half of superintendents (40 percent) and principals (46 principals) view NCLB as an effort to improve public schools. Another 22 percent and 29 percent say it is "motivated solely by politics," while 31 percent and 18 percent call it "a disguised effort to attack and destroy public education."

Only 20 percent of superintendents and 33 percent of principals say implementing NCLB is the most pressing issue in their district.

According to 64 percent of superintendents and 73 percent of principals, NCLB relies too much on testing. Nearly half (49 percent and 48 percent) call the requirement that test scores of special education students and English learners show adequate yearly progress "unreasonable and undoable."

Nearly six in 10 (58 percent and 57 percent) say the sanctions and consequences for not meeting NCLB goals are "unfair."

However, most superintendents and principals (55 percent and 59 percent) think they can meet the requirement that all core academic subject teachers be highly qualified. More than half of superintendents and principals (55 percent and 53 percent) think it is useful to test students annually so they can see where improvement is needed before it is too late.

According to Public Agenda President Ruth A. Wooden: "It is remarkable how deeply standards and accountability are now embedded in the attitudes of school leaders. But it is hard to overestimate the intense frustration these leaders feel about obstacles thrown in front of them from every direction."

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Reproduced with permission from the 2003 issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2003, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.