Education Secretary Highlights Flexibility & Student Achievement Gains Under No Child Left Behind Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Testifying today before the U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings highlighted success stories from states and local communities implementing the landmark No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education reform law.  Secretary Spellings emphasized the flexibility provided under NCLB as a key to the law’s successful implementation.

“It has been nearly four years since NCLB was signed into law in Hamilton, Ohio.  In that time, the law has precipitated a fundamental shift in America’s educational system,” said Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH).  “We’re seeing a culture of accountability take hold; one that is producing significant gains in student achievement, particularly among disadvantaged students who were once allowed to fall between the cracks.”

“No Child Left Behind is working.  Congress passed a law based on strong accountability, more choices for families, flexibility, and research on what works,” said Secretary Spellings.  “Congress also provided significant new resources to carry out the law:  funding for No Child Left Behind programs has grown by nearly $7 billion since the law was passed.”

“We have worked with our state and local partners to implement the law flexibly and effectively, and we are beginning to see terrific results.  There have been a few complaints, but at the end of the day, no parent thinks it's too much to ask for his or her child to be learning at grade level.  And no taxpayer thinks it's too much to ask schools to show us how students are performing,” Spellings continued.

“I have made implementing the law in a flexible, commonsense fashion the touchstone of my administration.  While we are committed to the bright-line principles of the law―annual assessments, disaggregated reporting of assessment results, and closing the achievement gaps by ensuring that all students are proficient in reading and math by the 2013-2014 school year―I am committed to giving states and school districts that share those principles considerable flexibility,” said Spellings.

The Committee also heard testimony examining NCLB implementation at the grassroots level.  Dr. Deborah Jewell-Sherman, superintendent of Richmond, VA public schools, described how her urban school district has worked to meet the challenges of NCLB.

“While the No Child Left Behind Act provided a springboard for our school district to take a bold look at our instructional program, it must also be noted that Richmond Public Schools did not shy away from the challenges that accompanied the implementation of the NCLB Act,” said Dr. Jewell-Sherman.  “Instead, we assessed our division from top to bottom to determine our current status, and then we constructed a strong, more accountable system where our students received high quality instruction that demanded higher levels of academic achievement.  We developed a plan of action.”

Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, described how NCLB has mobilized education reform efforts and underscored the importance of academic achievement for all students, regardless of race, economic status, or disability.

“[E]ducators in every part of this country have told me that this law strengthens the hands of those who are working to improve overall achievement and close the achievement gaps that have for too long plagued our schools and our nation,” said Haycock.

“NCLB called on educators to embrace a new challenge – not just access for all, but achievement for all. Thousands upon thousands are answering that call,” continued Haycock.

“The experience of No Child Left Behind has shown that if we set the bar high, provide needed resources, stick to our principles, and give states and school districts the flexibility to put those principles in place, we can achieve real, positive results,” said Spellings.  “Those are important lessons, and ones that I hope this Committee will keep in mind as it works to build on the success of No Child Left Behind in the upcoming reauthorization.”

# # # # #