In a speech at a middle school in Arlington, Virginia, yesterday, the President called on Congress to reform No Child Left Behind before the start of the next school year. His goal is for every child to graduate high school ready for college or a career.
No Child Left Behind is the Bush-era education policy that was enacted to improve standards across all our schools, but [in many instances the law has] actually led to the lowering of standards.
The proposals put forward by the President yesterday would put in place fair accountability measures, flexibility that empowers teachers and a focus on the schools and pupils most at risk. They move away from the one-size-fits-all approach of No Child Left Behind and would instead work with schools and states in finding the solutions that work for them.
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Tests: Replacing fill-in-the-bubble tests with more sophisticated assessment systems. Moving away from judging schools' performance based on how students do on one test on one day--rather looking at how teachers, principals and administrators are helping students improve.
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Curriculum: Supporting states to adopt college and career-ready standards to make sure when kids go to college they don't need remedial classes. Investing in state efforts to develop a well-rounded curriculum.
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Lowest Performing Schools: Removing unnecessary federal mandates that don’t help improve a school’s performance and instead work to find local solutions to failing schools. Providing investment for ambitions plans to transform struggling schools.
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Teachers: Providing incentives and accountability for getting effective teachers to the schools that need them most, and identifying and learning from the most effective teachers.
Over the coming months the President will work with Congress to reform the education laws to make sure that they work for all our children.