A Case for NCLB Reauthorization

Ronald Brownstein makes a case for the reauthorization of NCLB, with some changes.

There's no doubt the law has minted enemies. But Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, a nonpartisan group that advocates for low-income children, has it right when she says the law wasn't designed "to make people happy." It was passed because too many students in too many places were not learning enough. It wouldn't be doing its job if it left in place the practices that produced those unacceptable results. Grumbling, in education as in everything else, is the inevitable price of change.

I have long felt that the true legacy of NCLB is that we as a nation have finally exposed to the harsh light of reality just how states could claim "educational excellence" with a straight face while poor and minority students were falling further and further behind.

No one can rationally argue that NCLB is perfect, but the fact that we as a nation talk about it sooooo much means that we are at least willing to accept the fact that the mere fact of talking about achievement gaps and quality teachers and choices in education means we are on the road to making changes. Education, still one of the most important issues in America, is the last best hope this Congress has of making any sort of postive move.