The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations

The current education system is a mess. We have 51 different systems of standards, 51 different systems of accountability, 51 different systems for collecting and analyzing data, we even have 51 different ways of certifying teachers. For 21st century society we are rooted in the 19th century...may as well make the secretary of education start using a horse to travel around the country.

The worst part of this problem is that everyone, regardless of their background or expertise, has an opinion on how to fix it. Perhaps the one area that President Bush could point to as a success in his administration is the passage and implementation of No Child Left Behind. For the first time the federal government stepped in and put teeth behind the movement to equalize the education of every child in America. Long have the feds pushed states to implement standards and curriculum for all subjects and grade levels, however states have dragged their feet. It got to the point that for us to be serious about changing the system a system of rewards and punishments needed to be instituted. Now there are a lot of things wrong with the law and unfortunately the President cannot hang his hat on the implementation because certain folks in the administration screwed things up (see Reading First). But the basic goals are right and if you don't start somewhere then when/where do you start?

One of the biggest criticisms of the law centers on the requirement that all students be tested in reading, math, and science in grades 3-8 and once in high school. The results of the reading and math scores are used to gauge whether schools and districts are adequately educating all of their students. Surprise! Not all schools are doing a good job! As a result we have folks blaming everything from the funding levels to the tests to George Bush for their problems. On this last point identify the two older gentlemen in the background of this picture and get back to me on Bush and the Republicans being at fault for the writing and passage of NCLB.
So, how do we fix the problem? We can start by not putting the blame for failing schools on others! Teachers, principals, superintendents, teacher prep programs, etc need to look in the mirror and decide what they are in control of. The students are not the problem in this equation. It is the adults-worrying more about their job security than educating children-that are holding us back. NCLB is not the problem in America's classrooms. The problems are unprepared teachers, under-funded facilities, culture wars, poor research quality, etc. The next incarnation of NCLB needs to do a better job of addressing these issues but for now local districts and states need to make more of an investment in the classroom and not hide behind federal law.