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ASCD SPECIAL REPORT
OVERVIEW
| New
federal mandates for U.S. schools will change the shape
of the public education system. This ASCD SmartBrief
Special Report offers a collection of resources for
helping educators understand and implement NCLB.
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| Keeping
up with the No Child Left Behind Act |
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The
Law
President
George W. Bush signed the No Child
Left Behind Act, the reauthorized
version of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, into law on
Jan. 8, 2002. |
| Here's
a list
provided by ASCD summarizing major
provisions of the NCLB law. |
| For
even more detail, read the full
text of the law. |
The
Debate
There
is no shortage of controversy over
NCLB. This article from The
Washington Post highlights the key
points of dispute. |
Reading
First: Tips for cutting through the
clutter
Understanding
the core definition of scientifically
based research is key to meeting the
mandates of the federal Reading First
initiative, says Danielle Carnahan of
the Center for Literacy at North
Central Regional Educational
Laboratory. Carnahan translates the
terms and offers tips on how to find
the best research available. Journal
of Staff Development
(5/1) |
| Click
here for detailed information on
Reading First from the U.S. Department
of Education. |
Research
takes center stage with NCLB
Dan
Laitsch, senior policy analyst for
ASCD, examines questions surrounding
the federal government's push toward
research-based academic and
professional development programs.
Laitsch says the shift in ideology
"holds great promise" but
notes that a lack of funding could
undermine the effort. Infobrief
(10/6) |
Education
Department updates teacher quality
guidance
The
Department of Education has issued new
guidance on teacher quality to
clarify some confusing parts about
NCLB requirements. Topics covered
include whether teachers who teach
more than one subject need to be
"highly qualified" in both
and how to assess veteran teachers.
Education
Week
(free registration) (10/8) |
| States
are progressing unevenly toward
achieving the federal requirement of
having every elementary teacher and
secondary teachers of core subjects
"highly qualified" by the
end of the 2005-06 school year. Education
Week
(free registration) (9/20) |
ASCD's
Gene Carter: Adequate teacher
preparation is crucial
Programs
that don't adequately prepare teachers
for the classroom experience do a
"disservice to both the teachers
and students they profess to
help," says Gene R. Carter,
executive director of ASCD. While
alternative certification programs are
consistent with the government's push
for more fast-track teacher training,
they undermine the importance of
professional knowledge that can be
gained from traditional programs,
Carter says. Is
It Good for the Kids?
(10/2003) |
| A
July 2003 report
by the GAO said states need more
information to determine whether
teachers are "highly
qualified" under No Child Left
Behind. |
| The
Education Commission of the States
reviews the most effective strategies
for educating and training teachers. |
Progress
reports bring some states' academic
standards into question
As
the new school year gets under way, a
provision in NCLB requiring schools to
make "adequate yearly
progress" on assessment tests is
causing widespread confusion, in part
because states' academic benchmarks
vary. In Florida, for instance, 87% of
schools failed to make adequate
progress, prompting some to call for
lawmakers to lower benchmarks. Education
Week
(free registration) (9/3) |
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Bush administration says the
government approved NCLB testing plans
for all 50 states, but in reality,
just five states have had their
accountability plans approved,
according to an Education Week
analysis. Education
Week
(free registration) (8/6) |
| The
Council of Chief State School Officers
examines how states have developed
accountability plans to comply with
new federal testing mandates in its
Statewide Education Accountability
Under NCLB report. |
| With
NCLB in full effect, two states,
Oregon and Pennsylvania still have not
finalized their education budgets for
this year. Stateline.org
(8/27) |
Study:
No easy solution for failing schools
Education
policy expert Ronald C. Brady examines
intervention efforts in three school
districts designed to turn around
failing schools. Successful
intervention, while rare, requires the
right mix of people and timing, as
well as patience from policymakers who
may expect results too fast, Brady
says. Can
Failing Schools Be Fixed? |
No
Child Left Behind: Are there
alternatives?
Washington
Post columnist Jay Mathews, a
proponent of the No Child Left Behind
Act, asked 12 education experts,
ranging from teachers to professors,
how they would change the new federal
education law. The
Washington Post
(2/11) |
What
is "highly qualified?"
Stanford
University professor Pam Grossman
calls into question the Bush
administration's wisdom in requiring
that all teachers be judged
"highly qualified" under
guidelines laid out in the No Child
Left Behind Act. The criteria used by
the government to measure teachers'
qualifications actually will ease
barriers that exist for entry into the
field and in the end will harm
students, Grossman says. Harvard
Education Letter
(9/1) |
Report
Profiles Successful Districtwide
School Reform
A
case study report
released by the Learning First
Alliance shows that five high poverty
school districts raised student
achievement by focusing on
districtwide strategies to improve
instruction. ASCD played a key role in
co-chairing the project, visiting the
districts, and developing the report. |
Resources
focused on Teaching and Learning
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| What
Works in Schools -- The What Works in
Schools Online
Survey asks teachers and
administrators to create a profile of
how their school or district addresses
the factors that influence student
achievement. |
| For
more information about the
research-based What Works in Schools
program, click
here. |
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The
ASCD Fall Teaching and Learning Conference:
What Works in Schools-Increasing
Student Achievement Through
Research-Based Practices, will be held
in Philadelphia, PA, October 16-18. |
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Policy-focused
Information |
| Click
here to view ASCD's site devoted
to ESEA and the No Child Left Behind
Act. |
| ASCD
offers historical and background information
on NCLB. |
| For
all things NCLB, check out the U.S.
Department of Education's Web
site. |
| Read
the Learning First Alliance's publication,
"A Practical Guide to Talking
With Your Community About No Child
Left Behind and Schools in Need of
Improvement." |
| Check
to see how states are getting along
with meeting NCLB requirements with
the Education Commission of the
States' daily
updates. |
| The
Council of Chief State School Officers
breaks
down requirements of the No Child
Left Behind Act and offers tips for
implementing individual components of
the law. |
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SmartStat |
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A
Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll
released Aug. 20 found that 40% of
Americans knew very little about NCLB
and 36% knew nothing at all.
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©
Quality Learning 2003
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