Despite large increases in federal aid to schools, many congressional Democrats say that overall, the law is underfunded. Some conservatives say the law undermines local authority and gives the federal government too much control over schools. Those concerns have stalled a Bush administration proposal to expand the law's testing requirement to the nation's high schools.
Educational researchers say it is too soon to say whether the law has prompted lasting improvement in student achievement. "Bush is claiming greater success for the act than he can justify," said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington research organization that has closely studied the law's impact. "It is still unclear that the law will be successful in solving the problems in public education."
I am not sure how successful the law has been in its cheif goal of closing achievement gaps, as the story points out, it is too soon to tell. But I will say that the law did one thing very effectively, it started America talking, really talking, about the quality of education. The lively debate on both sides means that we as a nation no longer accept education as the status quo.
My constitutional study side of me says that NCLB was a massive usurpation of authority by the federal government into an area that traditionally was the domain of the states and counties. However, the side of me that wants results says that sometimes it takes bold initiatives to get something moving, to shake things up.
To be sure, NCLB has its drawbacks--particularly in measurement. But the one thing I don't want to see, that I am seeing evidence of, is backing down. The federal government, now that it has mandated certain actions, cannot come in later and soften its stance. If states don't want to comply with the law, fine. That is their right, they just don't get federal educaiton money, which could be used for other purposes. The state government can then live with the wrath of the voters who may or may not support the legislation.
Happy Birthday NCLB, here's to hoping that you improve with age.
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