Improving No Child Left Behind
In October 2011, I introduced a bill designed to improve a key shortcoming of the decade-old education reform law, No Child Left Behind. No Child Left Behind radically changed the way schools are held accountable for student achievement by setting goals and standards for performance. But it has been widely criticized for applying one-size-fits-all consequences to schools that face unique and often challenging circumstances, neglecting credit where credit is due for schools that have made enormous improvement yet remain underachieving compared to their peers. Every child is different and every school faces unique challenges; if a child enters school far behind - and then makes big improvements - we ought to factor that in when measuring their school's performance. My bill, which builds on work I did in the U.S. House, is based on a nationally recognized "growth model" developed in Colorado that does just that. It would allow states to consider a student's individual academic growth as a measurement of school performance, enabling schools to track students from year to year and providing schools, parents, teachers, and students alike with the information they need to see where improvements have been made and where there is still room for continued learning. It was drafted with the help of education experts from inside and out of government in order to be a part of the discussion as Congress continues its work on the re-write of No Child Left Behind.
If you have further questions about this or any other issue, please contact me with your concerns.
What I'm Working On: