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Dial Test This
02/01/08
02:57:03 pm, Categories: Announcements [A] According to the AP: "Former President Clinton said today about NCLB "I want you to think about this, and I have to say, this was a train wreck that was not intended. No Child Left Behind was supported by George Bush and Senator Ted Kennedy and everybody in between. Why? Because they didn’t talk to enough teachers before they did that."
Teachers were an important voice in creation of NCLB. But not the only voice.
What happens when you listen to as many people as possible, whether or not they have a PAC and a lobbying office in Washington?
You get a law that people think has shined a spotlight on glaring achievement gaps rather than, as was routinely done in the past, deny them or attempt to sweep them under the rug. A law that, while in need of improvement and better funding, has taken the most dramatic step ever toward addressing, once and for all, the education of children who are not being served well in the current system.
Cindy Brown, of the Center for American Progress (headed up by Bill Clinton’s former Chief of Staff, John Podesta), said, just yesterday, at a briefing on Capitol Hill:
"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."
Sometimes a wake up call does feel like a train wreck.
Although he often took the side of teachers to the detriment of students and parents, President Clinton has a respectable record on education, stretching back to when he was Governor of Arkansas in the 1980’s. Among other things, he put in place the very accountability system which now drives NCLB. He just never had the political courage to activate it.
For a more thorough review of how the policies of President Clinton took significant steps toward closing achievement gaps, and where they fell far short, see the Democrats for Education Reform NCLB Briefing Memo (Barone, 2007) at www.dfer.org where you’ll read, among other things:
"Without question, Bill Clinton was the single most important force in establishing the framework of standards, accountability, and testing that were put into law under NCLB."
To get a sense of what happens when one listens to teachers, and only teachers, to the exclusion of everyone else, see Swift & Change Able post "Under the Clinton Regime, The Education Dice Were Loaded": here.
Update: Michele McNeil asks "Hmmmm. Could this be President Clinton’s payback for Sen. Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s chief opponent, Barack Obama?"
I particularly like the comment from her reader "Kathy":
What do you suppose will happen if we really educate all of our children? Do we have the job market to support such a phenomenon if it occurs? If NCLB is a "train wreck" then it’s time for all of us to stop looking at the horrific scene and take action, especially at the polls this November. My vote will go to the candidate who produces a plan that incorporates education into America’s political, social, and economic dream.
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1 comment
Comment from: Bob [Visitor]
I agree that NCLB is based on the same framework as Clinton's education policy. But to suggest that Clinton was feckless in not enforcing it is disingenuous and ignores history. Remember: Clinton signed IASA, the 1994 reauthorization of ESEA, in October. In November, the Republicans took over Congress with a vow to dismantle the Education Department. Although Gingrich and Co. never carried out that threat, how do you think they would have reacted if Riley had cut off funds to states that failed to disaggregate test data?
This is not to excuse Clinton; he could have done a lot more with the authority he had. But just remember: it wasn't just Kennedy and Miller who had to swallow hard to accept NCLB. A whole lot of Republicans in Congress held their noses to vote for the bill because they were opposed to a powerful federal presence in education. Now that Bush is no longer popular, a lot of those Republicans are going back to their old ways. They are just as responsible for holding up reauthorization as teachers' unions.
This is not to excuse Clinton; he could have done a lot more with the authority he had. But just remember: it wasn't just Kennedy and Miller who had to swallow hard to accept NCLB. A whole lot of Republicans in Congress held their noses to vote for the bill because they were opposed to a powerful federal presence in education. Now that Bush is no longer popular, a lot of those Republicans are going back to their old ways. They are just as responsible for holding up reauthorization as teachers' unions.
02/05/08 @ 14:52
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