After approving a massive higher education bill in September, Congress is beginning to turn its attention to a chief element of President Bush’s legacy: the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Up for its required renewal, the law is prompting a wave of new ideas to give public schools more flexibility while not abandoning its focus on success for at-risk students.
“We didn’t get it all right when we enacted No Child Left Behind,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chair of the Committee on Education and Labor. Among other shortcomings, the law “is not fair, not flexible and not adequately funded.”
But the law’s commitment to accountability must not change, said Miller, who with lawmakers of both parties has unveiled a bipartisan “discussion draft” of potential changes to the law. These include:
• A “smarter” accountability system, based on more than one standardized test of student achievement and giving schools flexibility in setting goals based on past performance;
• Performance pay for principals and teachers and mentoring for new instructors;
• Partnerships with colleges, universities and businesses to develop new standards assessing students’ readiness for college and careers, and;
