Cindy Brown, the director of education policy at the Center for American Progress, put this statement out today:
The Center for American Progress joins the Commission on NCLB in calling for Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, now known as the No Child Left Behind Act. NCLB took important steps to hold educators and institutions accountable for ensuring all students learn to high levels. Its reporting requirements for every school on how subgroups of children—particularly children from low-income families, minority groups, and those with disabilities or learning English–compare to their more advantaged peers have been a wake-up call to the nation about the shortcomings of our public education system.
Though substantially under funded, NCLB has provided a down payment on needed improvements in public education. Achievement gaps are closing, but more intensive interventions are needed. It’s important for Congress to make mid-course corrections in NCLB’s accountability structure without weakening its principles of ensuring steady and significant progress toward academic proficiency for all students.
In addition, Congress needs to add new, innovative financial incentives to NCLB to quicken the pace of reform. We at the Center for American Progress are particularly supportive of proposals to strengthen the quality of teaching in high poverty schools through the TEACH Act provisions introduced by Senator Kennedy (D-MA) and Congressman Miller (D-CA), a federal demonstration program to expand learning time in high poverty schools through a bill introduced by Congressman Payne (D-NJ), and the Graduation Promise Act, introduced in the House by Congressman Hinojosa (D-TX) and Senators Bingaman (D-NM, Burr (R-NC) and Kennedy (D-MA) in the Senate, to target schools with high dropout rates.
If we don’t reauthorize the law now, we postpone the opportunity to address such important issues as low high school graduation rates and additional help for struggling schools. These changes are needed now and Congress must act this year.