Texas resistance to No Child Left Behind may not matter after rewrite
Texas Commissioner of Education Michael Williams, pictured here addressing Eastside Memorial High School in southeast Austin, has said that Texas will continue to fight for local control in education accountability requirements under No Child Left Behind. RALPH BARRERA/ AMERICAN-STATESMAN
With the exception of the Common Core, there is perhaps no more hated federal education program than No Child Left Behind.
Forty-two of the fifty states have received NCLB waivers this year, including the Lone Star State on Tuesday, showing once again the difficulty of creating a one-size-fits-all solution for accountability in the nation’s public schools.
Comments by Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams make plain that Texas will continue to go to mat on certain elements of No Child Left Behind, even if it means jeopardizing millions in federal funding that is contingent on the state’s compliance with parts of the law.
The Department of Education granted Texas’ waiver on a conditional basis, meaning that in future years the state will need to use of specific teacher and principal evaluation systems statewide, something Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams rejected in a response Tuesday.
“Our state believes strongly in local control of our schools,” Williams said Tuesday. “As a result, we will continue discussing this specific point with the U.S. Department of Education, but they should not expect any shift in Texas’ position.”
Congress is currently in the process of revamping the 2001 law, which was modeled after the Texas accountability system created under Gov. George W. Bush.
While it is clear that the initiative has fallen out of favor with both liberals and conservatives, one thing should not be missed: There were significant gains in student performance that are directly attributable to No Child Left Behind. And there is evidence that the much bemoaned achievement gap narrowed as well.
Was the goal that all children would be proficient by 2014 under No Child Left Behind ever achievable? Not really.
But as Congress and others go to work dismantling the behemoth education reform built by conservative lawmakers, they should be sure that the newer, better and more reasonable version does not allow school districts and states to ignore the very real discrepancies in achievement for the nation’s most at-risk students.
If not testing, with all of its warts, then what?
The future of the law is unclear, especially with the sudden departure of House Speaker John Boehner., who was considered one of the principal architects of the rewrite. The U.S. House and Senate are negotiating how to blend their two bills in conference committee, but the choice of the next speaker may greatly affect whether the two chambers can produce something that President Obama is willing to sign.Texas resistance to No Child Left Behind may not matter after rewrite | Viewpoints: