Editorial: No arrogance left behind

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 | 9 a.m.

President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act three years ago and for three years it has been the object of constant criticism by educators, parents and state officials from around the country. Federal funding to support the act's general goal of improving student achievement falls well short. And in many specific areas, critics say, the goals are either unattainable, naive or require teaching methods that emphasize short-term memorization over long-term conceptual learning. The Bush administration has rejected the criticisms and maintains its strong-arm approach, with its emphasis on punishing schools that do not keep up with its dictum: one federal standard fits all.

The latest criticism of NCLB comes from the National Conference of State Legislatures. A 14-member, bipartisan National Conference task force spent 10 months holding hearings in major cities and compiling a thorough review of how the Act has affected school districts and state educational initiatives. The task force concluded that NCLB is a seriously flawed approach to education. A report on its findings, released this week, lists 43 recommendations for improving the Act and getting education in this country moving forward again.

A chief criticism by the task force is the federal government's "one size fits all" approach that leaves states with little flexibility. The task force concluded that many innovative state programs that were proving successful before passage of the Act have been stifled. Another key criticism is that NCLB measures only the achievements of "groups of students," leaving no method for gauging the growth of individuals. Also, there is no recognition under NCLB that "some schools face special challenges," the task force concluded.

After releasing the report, task force members expressed optimism that Bush would take their recommendations to heart. A statement from an assistant secretary of education, however, gives little hope of that happening. "No Child Left Behind is bringing new hope and new opportunity to families throughout America, and we will not reverse course," Ray Simon said in a statement published in The New York Times.

Once again, the Bush administration appears poised to display its arrogance and stubbornness instead of what the country is aching for -- intelligent leadership that knows how to listen and make improvements where needed.