What are your gripes with NCLB?
Yesterday, after an hourlong discussion where Raymond Simon, deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, met with 19 of Maryland's high-ranking educators and fielded their questions and concerns about the No Child Left Behind Act, several superintendents were left dissatisfied.
While some said they were pleased with the opportunity to dialogue about some of the problems associated with the act, they also said that they were not pleased with some of Simon's responses.
During the discussion, the educators spoke about the shortage of qualified teachers, financial hardships caused by trying to meet the act's goals, and the challenge of closing the achievement gap for foreign-born students and special education students.
Sydney L. Cousin, superintendent of Howard County Schools, asked Simon about providing more testing flexibility for foreign-born students who are learning English.
Cousin explained that research shows that it takes five to seven years for foreign-born students to become fluent enough to take tests in English, yet No Child Left Behind gives them a one-year waiver before applying their test scores as part of a local school's achievement.
Simon launched into a spiel about holding accountable students who have grown up in this country.
Anne Arundel's Superintendent Dr. Kevin Maxwell immediately clarified that Cousin was talking about immigrant students.
“That is an issue that many of us are grappling with,” Maxwell said.
Simon responded that the one-year waiver was the result of a compromise between the federal government, local school systems, and advocates for foreign-born students. He also said that some schools have been able to offer assessment tests in the student’s native language. (Most of the superintendents appeared to be unaware of this option.)
Maxwell later said that Simon did not address the issue.
“I was a little disappointed by the response,” he said.
Cousin also wasn’t pleased with the response, but he said he did not have high expectations for the discussion.
"Given the limited amount of time, there really wasn't an opportunity to go into depth," Cousin said. "I don't know if that was the right forum."
Cousin was impressed by the fact that Simon wanted to meet with local superintendents.
"At least they said they want to hear what we have to say," Cousin said. "The follow-up is the critical question."
If you had the opportunity to talk to Simon about No Child Left Behind, what would you say? One reader e-mailed this morning and said he would have questioned Simon about the achievement gap among African-American students.
Categories: Around the Region, Howard County, NCLB
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Here's what I would say to Mr. Simon regarding NCLB. I would say that no state should receive ANY federal funding for education if they improperly use NCLB tests to impose high stakes consequences on students. Standardized tests were never intended to be used to decide whether a student should graduate - but that is exactly what we are using them for here in Maryland! Even private testing companies that handle these tests warn that states should not misuse them in this way - but those warnings go unheeded.
While I am no fan of NCLB -- the double standard here is breathtaking! Just a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Grasmick marshalled as many principals, superintendents and teachers as she could find to go to Annapolis to oppose HB 520, a bill which would have prohibited her from denying diplomas to students who do not pass four Maryland High School Assessments, two of which are used to satisfy NCLB testing requirements. At the hearing - these officials convinced our lawmakers that every single member of the class of 2009 could pass the HSAs with no trouble and no additional resources -- it was a slam dunk. Dr. Grasmick also warned legislators that if they removed the harsh consequences for students (the loss of diploma after 12 years of education)- students might not take the tests as seriously, which could put Maryland's NCLB testing results in jeopardy. To put it bluntly, if we don't keep putting the screws to students, it might make the adults in charge have to suffer the system and school level consequences imposed by NCLB.
Now yesterday we see that Dr. Grasmick has called on local superintendents to tell Ray Simon of the US Dept. of Ed. quite a different story. There was all sorts of complaining and whining about how tough it will be to get all students, especially special needs students and English language learners up to speed by 2014. But didn't these same folks just tell our legislators it was no problem to get every student to proficiency in time for graduation next spring? Which is it -- an impossible goal or a slam dunk? Somebody is not getting the straight story.
I can't believe that no one is calling Dr. Grasmick on this blatant double standard she is setting up. She wants to apply harsh, inflexible consequences on students (the people with the least amount of power to make changes to the system), at the same time she is begging for more time for her local superintendents to bring all students up to proficiency.
NCLB does not IN ANY WAY prescribe consequences for students with regard to NCLB tests. I have written to Ray Simon, Deputy Secretary of U.S. Dept. of Education, and asked him to disqualify Maryland for this special pilot program until Dr. Grasmick is willing to extend this same level of flexibility with regard to the HSA graduation requirement. I told him that he should not include any state that would misuse an NCLB test to make major decisions about a student, such as grade promotion or graduation. To give our state officials more leniency with regard to test scores, at the same time those same state officials are getting ready to bring the hammer down on the class of 2009, is an unacceptable double standard. Accountability should start at the top - not on the backs of our students.
I sincerely wish you would write a follow-up story to get a reaction from Senator Anthony Muse and Delegate Jay Walker, who sponsored the bills that would have lowered the stakes on the HSAs for students (HB 520/SB 787 and HB 519/SB933). Ask them to tell you how different the testimony they heard was from what you heard at the NCLB pow-wow. I would also love it if you asked Asst. Sec. Simon what he thinks of this blatant double standard - one standards for students, an easier standard for adults.
Sincerely, Sue Allison
Director Marylanders Against High Stakes Testing www.geocities.com/stophsa
Posted by: Sue Allison | March 28, 2008 4:03 PM