Education Reform Means Reassessing and Reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The recent federal push for education reform has reintroduced the discussion over No Child Left Behind, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA, as well as putting the focus on the need of a unified and country-wide effort to rebuild our education system from the inside.
Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, a long-standing proponent of reauthorizing the ESEA, is using President Obama’s increased education budget to reiterate some of the better points of the failed No Child Left behind Act.
Debates have run the gamut over No Child Left Behind, NCLB. Educators and administration feel that they were over scrutinized and underfunded; most of them felt that there was too much focus being put on testing and not teaching their students. Parents saw the plan as ineffective, to say the very least.
In a speech near the end of 2009, Secretary Duncan said of NCLB, “I will always give NCLB credit for exposing achievement gaps, and for requiring that we measure our efforts to improve education by looking at outcomes, rather than inputs. NCLB helped expand the standards and accountability movement.”
The theme is becoming undeniable. What Secretary Duncan referred to as the “accountability movement” is the crux of the Providence Effect Movement to Save American Education. We support both President Obama and Secretary Duncan’s positions that if proponents of the American education system want real change, there needs to be accountability for all involved including students, politicians, educators, administration and the community at large. It has to be a matter of all for one, and one for all, for change.
Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, a long-standing proponent of reauthorizing the ESEA, is using President Obama’s increased education budget to reiterate some of the better points of the failed No Child Left behind Act.
Debates have run the gamut over No Child Left Behind, NCLB. Educators and administration feel that they were over scrutinized and underfunded; most of them felt that there was too much focus being put on testing and not teaching their students. Parents saw the plan as ineffective, to say the very least.
In a speech near the end of 2009, Secretary Duncan said of NCLB, “I will always give NCLB credit for exposing achievement gaps, and for requiring that we measure our efforts to improve education by looking at outcomes, rather than inputs. NCLB helped expand the standards and accountability movement.”
The theme is becoming undeniable. What Secretary Duncan referred to as the “accountability movement” is the crux of the Providence Effect Movement to Save American Education. We support both President Obama and Secretary Duncan’s positions that if proponents of the American education system want real change, there needs to be accountability for all involved including students, politicians, educators, administration and the community at large. It has to be a matter of all for one, and one for all, for change.
In this mist of all this reform, which is greatly needed. Better oversight is also needed. I wonder how they are going to address the social promotion issue that is and has been hurting our children. Here in NJ, there is still way too much focus on testing, most of all funding is going toward administrative cost (teacher's salaries included) just check the pie chart on how the money is spent. Not enough reaching the actual classrooms. NCLB is and has been used to justified passing children to the next grade level when they clearly are not properly prepared. I wish they would hold public forums to get input from others. I'll remain optimistic about this. We need the RIght Change, not just any change from what is currently in place.