Education

Tackling Tough Issues on No Child Left Behind

By Michelle R. Davis — November 28, 2006 1 min read
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Up on Capitol Hill there’s a lot of talk about the possibility of fast action on the No Child Left Behind Act, which is up for reauthorization next year. But the folks over at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation are worried that lawmakers are not prepared to tackle what they see as one of the federal education law’s biggest problems: the laser-like focus on math, reading, and sometimes science where the law calls for testing of student achievement. Critics say the result is that schools are squeezing out other subjects, like social studies, in order to focus on the subjects that are tested. The Fordham Foundation is convening a symposium to discuss the issue Dec. 12 in Washington, D.C. Some big names in the education world are expected to lead the discussions, including Kati Haycock of The Education Trust, Diane Ravitch of the Brookings Institution and Toni Cortese of the American Federation of Teachers.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Around the Web blog.