Six Years Later, Congress Has a Chance to Strengthen NCLB (Rep. Michael Castle)

Six years ago No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was signed into law by the President and the results of the Law are clear — NCLB is working. Six years later, the 110th Congress has the unique opportunity to work in a bipartisan manner to create a bill which strengthens the law, while at the same time maintains its core principles of accountability, flexibility, and parental choice. The groundwork to do so has been laid through many hearings, as well as meetings with stakeholders and experts.

Education in our country is evolving at an exciting pace and NCLB is a huge component of that in helping to close the achievement gap. The reauthorization process, however, is far from over and we must continue to look at ways to strengthen this law to ensure every child learns and succeeds, including allowing the use of growth models, holding high schools accountable for improving their graduation rates, and providing increased flexibility for English language learners and increased flexibility for students with disabilities our nation’s students.

By addressing these and other issues, I am hopeful Congress can draft a bipartisan bill which builds on NCLB’s strengths, improves some of its limitations, and continues to produce more results for students, parents, and teachers.