Encouraging unique paths to success: Enhancing NCLB

As a parent, it never ceases to amaze me how different my children are, with different personalities, goals and interests. It’s no surprise that their learning styles vary as well. If five children in the same family require slightly different approaches in a school setting to help them succeed, then an education system that caters to millions of children from millions of families must have considerable flexibility to meet the needs of its many students. Although federal public education funding plays a relatively minor role compared to state funding (just over 10 percent of Idaho’s K-12 public education is funded by the federal government), federal programs and standards must allow individual school districts the utmost flexibility in local implementation. As a father and legislator, I am committed to advocating for public education in Idaho and throughout the nation. President Bush’s sweeping education reforms included in the No Child Left Behind Act have had measurable positive effects on many students across the country, and I support the law’s objective of ensuring that every child achieves his or her potential.

After over five years of No Child Left Behind, we have met with many successes: More reading progress was made among 9-year-olds between 1999 and 2004 than in the prior 28 years; and, between 2003 and 2005, the majority of states improved or held steady in all categories of fourth-graders tested in reading and math. However, NCLB works the same as any other comprehensive reform legislation — after a period of time, it’s appropriate to review opportunities for improvements to the original program. 

As early as 2005, I worked on legislation that would help NCLB respond more effectively to needs of individual, especially rural, communities. In 2006, I worked with the Department of Education and Secretary Margaret Spellings in an effort to make administrative changes to the law. As a result, some important modifications were made, including increased flexibility for paraprofessionals to meet highly qualified standards, testing parameters that recognize the challenges facing disabled students, and more flexibility for some states to use alternate assessment models.  

As I continued to hear from teachers, administrators and parents, it became clear that NCLB had additional areas in need of improvement. Throughout 2006 and into 2007, I have worked with stakeholder groups in Idaho and at the national level to identify the most critical components that, with improvement, would help our nation’s children. Above all, the federal government cannot be allowed to become what amounts to a national school board. Often, federal funding comes with federal strings attached, and one-size-fits-all solutions almost never work. To try to move back in the direction of more local control, we need workable, common-sense modifications to the law. 

Building on collaborative input and guidance gathered from experts in the education field, I joined my colleague, Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D), in August 2007 to introduce S.1913, the No Child Left Behind Enhancement Act. Some elements of S.1913 include:

• Supplemental services like tutoring, offered sooner than currently available.

• Flexibility for states to use additional types of assessment models to measure student progress.

• More input from local school districts in the selection of supplemental service providers —  currently, districts have little or no say in determining the qualifications of these providers.

• More flexibility for states in assessing students with disabilities.

• More fair and accurate assessments of students with Limited English Proficiency.

• More flexibility for schools in hiring special education teachers, a field in which many schools report a shortage.

• The creation of a student testing participation range, making allowances for uncontrollable variations in student attendance.

• Only applying sanctions when the same student group fails to make progress for two consecutive years — this would allow the schools to better target improvement resources.

• Ensuring accurate student counts in assessment and reporting systems.

These provisions preserve the major focus on student achievement and accountability that is the hallmark of NCLB and, at the same time, ensure that schools and school districts are accurately and fairly assessed. The legislation ensures that local schools and districts have more flexibility and control in educating our nation’s children, and will ensure that NCLB continues to be a framework for success for educators and students alike.

The No Child Left Behind Enhancement Act reflects a realistic assessment of both the strengths and weaknesses of No Child Left Behind. While there may be many issues that divide us, our responsibility in education is clear.  We must promote successful, meaningful public education for our children.

Over the years, Idaho public schools have sown the seeds for my children’s academic, athletic and social achievement and success by addressing their individual learning needs. The federal government must do all it can to help schools do this, and refrain from enforcing regulations that hinder the process. School districts, like students, find unique paths to success. These styles are developed based on the composition and needs of the local community. It’s the job of the federal government, in its role of supporting a strong public education system, to respect these rich variations and encourage school success by promoting the same.

Crapo is a member of the Senate Budget and Finance committees, and the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

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