Teacher Leaders Network - NCLB - (Page CoverC)

“The one thing NCLB has done is to shine the light into the dark corners of inequities in our education system. We can no longer pretend not to know where students are being well served by the system, and where they are not. The fact that the majority of the low achieving schools are in high poverty areas may not have surprised many who have worked in education for any amount of time — but now we have 'hard data' to back up what we have always known in our hearts.” - Linda Emm 21-year teaching veteran Executive Summary Few stakeholders in American education can disagree with the moral mandate of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to provide equal access to quality education for all children. Now on the eve of the law's reauthorization, thoughtful contributors to public policy should further agree that it is time for a serious investigation into whether NCLB has in fact moved this nation's schools and students toward its intended goals. Countless policymakers, administrators, and union officials have been engaged in heated debate since the law's passage in 2002, but far less has been heard from the individuals who are directly impacted by NCLB's daily consequences — both positive and negative, anticipated and unintended. In late May 2007, PBS education correspondent John Merrow and several of his colleagues from Learning Matters, Inc., took a step forward in rectifying this silence when they engaged 23 members of Teacher Leaders Network, a virtual community of some of the nation's best educators, in an online dialogue about how NCLB has affected their classrooms, students, and school communities. As those most intimately connected to and responsible for children's learning, the teachers offered insights that provide a necessary and overdue counterpoint to the numerous existing perspectives on No Child Left Behind. From these teachers' first-hand knowledge emerged nuanced discussions about the value of NCLB, especially regarding its focus on underserved students and evidence of who is making progress and who is not. However, these expert teachers also raised ethical issues worthy of serious reflection by policymakers including: the quality and misuse of standardized tests; the inadequacy of current data systems; and misguided measures of the “highly qualified” teacher. This report exposes both the potential for No Child Left Behind to better serve this nation's students and the fundamental weaknesses that currently prevent the law from fully realizing its stated aims. Whether readers find themselves nodding in agreement or raising objections, these views from some of the nation's best educators are a crucial tool for not only refining NCLB, but also assuring that all teachers have the skills, knowledge, and support they need to guide students toward 21st Century success. Executive Summary

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Teacher Leaders Network - NCLB

Executive Summary The Future of American Education in the Making It is Time to Align NCLB Intentions and Consequences The Teacher Leaders Network Encounters NCLB from the Classroom NCLB Demands Results and So Do We Attention Alone Does Not Equal Effective Accountability Standardized Tests Fall Short of 21st Century Demands For What Future Is NCLB Preparing Students? As Testing Expands, the Curriculum Shrinks The Drive for Data Presents Potential for Significant Change Data Systems Don’t Keep Pace with Real-Time Instructional Needs AYP Highlights the Good, Bad, and Ugly of NCLB Does “Highly Qualified” Set the Teaching Bar Too Low? Teaching Quality Must Be More Than a Number Every Student Deserves a Highly Effective, Well-Trained Teacher Conclusions References

Teacher Leaders Network - NCLB

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