Kennedy Set To Press No Child Left Behind Reforms

[babylonsister]

Kennedy's wish list won't be left behind
By ERIKA LOVLEY | 12/10/08 4:25 AM EST



With solid Democratic majorities in Congress and an indebted president-elect headed to the White House, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) is well-situated to see his wish list for No Child Left Behind largely influence next year’s reauthorization.

Aides say the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has already whittled down his priorities to several key focus areas: closing the student-teacher achievement gap, encouraging parents to get involved in schools and amending the legislation’s one-size-fits-all approach to low-performance schools.

While the details of President-elect Barack Obama’s education agenda are still being fleshed out, it will clearly be a priority during his presidency, including full funding of the No Child Left Behind Act.

The bill was pushed through Congress in 2001, with Kennedy’s help, as an early top priority of President George W. Bush. But the law was chronically underfunded by billions of dollars during the Bush administration.

Obama’s plan also aims to use more than just standardized tests as assessment tools and to reward teachers who excel.

more...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16371.html

[amdezurik]

1. the only "reform" it needs

is to be taken down and stamped into the mud. It is all this fraud deserves.

[blondeatlast]

2. I'd love to see it scraped entirely, but I'm a realist.

But getting rid of standardized tests (and thus teach-to-the-test learning) will make me a little happier.

[LynneSin]

3. Geez, and to think we might have another one of those stinking Kennedys in the senate

:sarcasm:

Ted Kennedy has always had the interest of the people first. NCLB was never really that bad of a program - it just wasn't funded the way it should be in order for it to be successful

[babylonsister]

4. I'm no teacher, but that standardized testing never made sense

to me. Teachers spend all year trying to teach kids answers to a dumb test, instead of really teaching. Seems a horrid way to educate, and a very narrow education at that.