A juggling act on No Child Left Behind

Sat Nov 24 15:57:44 UTC 2007

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    A juggling act on No Child Left Behind
Democrats, Republicans and teachers see flaws in Calif.'s Rep. Miller's
proposal to renew the 2001 education law. He's not giving up.

By Nicole Gaouette
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

October 30, 2007

WASHINGTON — Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) has never been one to back away
from a brawl -- he once warned an adversary that if he wanted to fight, it
was going to take a while, so he'd better bring lunch. But as Miller pushes
to renew the landmark education law known as No Child Left Behind, he faces
so many fights that the fate of the bill is increasingly in doubt. As
chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Miller is sparring with
Republicans who see his proposed changes as an unacceptable watering down of
the law's core standards. Teachers object to his proposal to link pay to
performance.

Even his fellow Democrats -- particularly freshmen who campaigned against it
and members of the Congressional Black Caucus -- are giving him a hard time,
largely for not doing enough to soften the law's most rigid requirements.
Some critics of the law say the emphasis on math and English testing has
squeezed teaching time for history, science and other subjects. Others say
that the law is too strict and punishes schools that are doing a fairly good
job. "People have a very strong sense that the No Child Left Behind Act is
not fair, that it is not flexible and that it is not funded," Miller said in
a recent speech. "And they are not wrong. The question is what we are going
to do next."

The 2001 law, President Bush's hallmark domestic achievement, is supposed to
be renewed every five years, although it remains in effect even if lawmakers
fail to do that. Democrats pledged to rewrite it this year, but time is
short and political tensions are high. Congress plans to adjourn for the
year in a few weeks. And some Democrats are loath to give Bush a victory on
No Child Left Behind when he refused to compromise on the Iraq war. The
administration has also made clear it wants just minimal changes.

No Child Left Behind was designed to end what the president called the "soft
bigotry of low expectations" by forcing schools to track data on low-income
and minority students and holding the schools accountable if those pupils
did not do well. Schools also have to show that all students are making
adequate yearly progress in math and English, or face tough sanctions.

Miller drafted 1,036 pages of proposed changes with the committee's lead
Republican, Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon of Santa Clarita. But as Miller has
tweaked that proposal to appeal to Democrats and teachers, he has lost
Republicans.

The balance he seeks is between those who think the law's standards are too
rigid and those who want them as tightly defined as possible.

A 33-year veteran of the House, Miller is known for his pragmatism, his
ability to make a deal and his close ties to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San
Francisco), all of which may help him find an answer in the few weeks he has
left.

"We're certainly not in full agreement," Miller said, mentioning talks with
committee Republicans. "Not between my caucus and their caucus, not between
Mr. McKeon and myself. Whether we can reach an agreement remains to be seen.
We're pushing as hard as we can."

McKeon said he was hopeful that he and Miller could reach a compromise, but
he expressed concern "that some provisions in the draft would weaken
accountability, allowing schools to mask a lack of achievement in the
fundamentals of reading and math and obscure the information provided to
schools and communities."

For Miller, who has made children a focus of his career and has long
advocated greater teacher accountability, working on the first No Child Left
Behind bill was a natural cause. A staunch liberal, he was an odd partner
for Bush, but they worked closely enough for the president to dub the burly
former football player "Big George."

In the five years since Miller and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) helped
write and pass No Child Left Behind, they complain, the administration has
never fully funded the law in a way that would help schools meet their
additional burdens. Republicans counter that few laws are fully funded.

The law has frustrated some parents and teachers who dislike its effect in
local schools.

Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, has
told Miller that his draft continues to overemphasize standardized tests.

The cost, Wynn says, includes "extraordinary pressure placed on students and
the loss of important instruction in music, art and other elements of a
well-rounded education."

Some critics say that too many schools are sanctioned under the law. Schools
that fail to meet goals for three years must offer students free tutoring or
the chance to switch schools. After five years of failure, the law mandates,
a school must be restructured with a new staff or new leadership or be
converted to a charter school.

Miller's draft bill would broaden measurements of students and schools --
for instance, letting states measure how much students improve over a year
and not just whether they meet the bar set by No Child Left Behind.

Miller also wants to expand the standards by which schools are judged beyond
math and English scores -- a shift McKeon strongly opposes. Under Miller's
proposal, up to 15% of an elementary school's evaluation could be based on
assessments of history, science, and civics and government classes. For high
schools, rates for graduation, dropouts, attendance and college enrollment
could be considered too.

Some of the strictest sanctions would be relaxed under Miller's bill. For
example, it would loosen a rule that puts an otherwise successful school on
probation if a small group within it -- such as learning-disabled children
-- fails to meet the standards.

The draft would also change the way English-language learners are evaluated,
allowing them to be tested in their native language for up to five years
instead of the current three years, and permitting a two-year extension for
some. Republicans say this would mean a child who spoke no English could
enter the public school system in fifth grade and graduate from high school
without ever being evaluated in English.

Teachers unions have objected to Miller's proposal to allow high-needs
school districts to give $10,000 bonuses to outstanding teachers and up to
$12,500 for teachers of math, science, special education and other subjects
that are short of instructors. Criteria for the awards would be developed
with input from the unions.

Critics of the unions say teachers are trying to avoid accountability. The
unions say Miller's plan -- which McKeon backs -- is not workable.

"You can be a better teacher than I am, but based on conditions that you
have to work in, it makes it much more difficult for you to do the same
job," said National Education Assn. President Reginald Weaver. "Plus, paying
teachers based on student performance hasn't really made a difference in how
students achieve."

In the Senate, Democrats and Republicans are in talks about the bill, and
Kennedy hopes to begin formal discussions in the education committee in the
next few weeks.

Miller, meanwhile, continues to search for a compromise that can win enough
support to pass the House.

"We would be wrong to waver when it comes to the existing goals and
standards of the No Child Left Behind law," he said. "We would also be wrong
if we failed to respond to the serious concerns with the law raised by
people who sincerely care about America's educational future."

nicole.gaouette at latimes.com

-- 
http://texasedequity.blogspot.com/2007/11/juggling-act-on-no-child-left-behind.html
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