Oh, No! Not Another Dumb Test
by Ellie McGrath
Now that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is underway, the evaluations are not far behind. In the most thorough analysis of the law to date, the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent, nonpartisan advocacy group for public education in Washington, D.C., has released its findings for 2003:
- 21 percent of all U.S. school districts had at least one school designated "in need of improvement";
- 50 percent of all urban districts, and 86 percent of the largest districts had at least one school designated "in need of improvement";
- Nearly 25 percent of suburban districts had a school designated as performing below level, some for the first time.
The law seems to create both assurances and anxiety. "Across the spectrum, there is a lot of support for the bedrock principles of NCLB," says Judy Wurtzel, executive director of the Learning First Alliance, an umbrella group of 12 educational organizations. "Parents like the accountability factor," says Linda Hodge, president of the National PTA, "and they like that kids are being helped. The concerns we're hearing are primarily about testing."
One worry is that teachers are teaching to the test-and not to the greater education of their students. "If you have a good test that measures what you should know, teaching to the test shouldn't be a bad thing," says Wurtzel. "The problem is that state tests tend to do a good job of measuring things we care about, like high-order thinking or extended writing." Adds Hodge: "Parents want their children to learn how to think, not color in bubbles."
Given the law's mandate that 95 percent of students be tested, averaged over a three-year period, incentives such as pizza parties on test days may be shrewd. In many small schools, it only takes a couple of absent students to make the school miss its quota. One district in rural Utah had two schools put on the watch list because they were one student short.
Many educators especially object to the provision that requires special education students to match the achievement rate of other students. "With mentally retarded kids, that's not a disability they're going to overcome," says Michele McLaughlin, deputy director of the education issues department at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
Students, however, are not the only ones being tested. The law demands that all public school teachers be "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-06 school year.
What does "highly qualified" mean? Teachers must have a bachelor's degree, full state certification, and "demonstrated competency, as defined by the state, in each of their core subjects." Experienced teachers must either meet the requirements for new teachers or meet a "high, objective, uniform state standard of evaluation" (HOUSSE), based on years of teaching, combined with professional development and awards.
So far, only 17 states have constructed a HOUSSE, according to McLaughlin. "For states without a HOUSSE, veteran teachers might have to take a test–which is professionally insulting," she notes. "Meeting these standards by 2006 leads to a lot of anxiety, especially for teachers near retirement." Rural, special education, and middle school teachers are also caught in a bind, since they are often called upon to teach multiple subjects. "To go back and get certification to teach all those classes in this time frame is unrealistic and expensive," says Diane Stark Retner, deputy director of the CEP. Adds McLaughlin, "We have a huge shortage of licensed special education teachers as it is."
Then there is the issue of money. According to the CEP study, 38 states said they lack sufficient staff to carry out everything mandated by the act; 24 report that fiscal problems are hindering their ability to implement the law. In February, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in Utah voted 64 to 8 not to comply with NCLB unless the state receives more federal money. After a tremendous outcry from educators, Education Secretary Rod Paige made the first adjustment to the when he announced that the test scores of recent non-English-speaking immigrants would not be included in determining a school's status.
In a world of dwindling resources, something has to give. "Music is disappearing, college prep and electives are being cut," says Hodge. If NCLB is to be true to its Mission as stated by Secretary Paige, "that all of our children receive a great education," it may be that states must either raise taxes or convince the federal government to spend more money on education.
Ellie McGrath is a former education editor for Time magazine.
