President Obama Releases Blueprint to Revise Elementary and Secondary Education Act

http://science.nsta.org/nstaexpress/nstaexpress_2010_03_15_legupdate_nonmember.htm

On Saturday, March 13, 2010, the Obama Administration released its blueprint for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind.

According to the New York Times, the Obama plan “strikes a careful balance, retaining some key features of the Bush-era law, including its requirement for annual reading and math tests, while proposing far-reaching changes … The administration would replace the law’s pass-fail school grading system with one that would measure individual students’ academic growth and judge schools based not on test scores alone but also on indicators like pupil attendance, graduation rates and learning climate. And while the proposal calls for more vigorous interventions in failing schools, it would also reward top performers and lessen federal interference in tens of thousands of reasonably well-run schools in the middle.”

The Administration will rely on Congress to develop legislative language to reauthorize ESEA. Both the NEA and the AFT were critical of the plan. Said NEA president Dennis Van Roekel “We are disappointed by this first effort by the Administration to rectify the considerable problems in the current federal education law …. We were expecting to see a much broader effort to truly transform public education for kids.  Instead, the accountability system of this ‘blueprint’ still relies on standardized tests to identify winners and losers.

AFT President Randi Weingarten stated, “This blueprint places 100 percent of the responsibility on teachers and gives them zero percent authority. For a law affecting millions of schoolchildren and their teachers, it just doesn’t make sense to have teachers—and teachers alone—bear the responsibility for school and student success.” Both unions pledged to share the plan with members to garner further feedback.

Here are some key highlights of the Obama blueprint to revise ESEA. To read the entire 45-page document, go to www.ed.gov. To read the New York Times article, go to www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/education/14child.html.

The blueprint builds on the reforms made in response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, also known as the Stimulus Bill)1. improving teacher and principal effectiveness 2. providing information to families to help them evaluate and improve their childrens schools and educators to help them improve student learning; 3. implementing college and career ready standards and developing improved assessments aligned with those standards and 4. improving student learning and achievement in Americas lowest performing schools by providing intensive support and effective interventions.

—> The blueprint includes specific efforts in these areas:

  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

  • College and Career Ready students 

  • Reward Schools, Districts and States 

  • Challenge states, districts and school 

  • School Turnaround Grants

  • Effective Teachers and Leaders

  • Teachers and Leader Innovation Fund

  • Teacher and Leader Pathways 

  • College Pathways and Accelerated Learning 

  • Promise Neighborhoods 

  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers

  • Successful, Safe and Healthy Students 

  • Race to the Top 

So, what is missing…

(1) Comprehensive and localized teacher development efforts around "college and career ready" aspects (ie: 21st Century Skills).  The emphasis is on defining effective teachers and leaders, but not providing opportunities for continual learning and growth.

(2) Teacher retention.  There is a lot of talk (and funding) for preparing new science and math teachers.  However, there is very little discussion of retention.  Why spend so much effort preparing a new teacher if it is a coin toss (yes, 50%) if they will stay in teaching beyond 5 years.  A determined effort for RETENTION is critical.

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