Education

Testing, Testing

July 17, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A lot of comments across the Web—like here, and here, and here—about a Congressional Quarterly report that Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon doesn’t like the Democratic draft of an NCLB bill.

McKeon is especially concerned about the language that would allow districts to use so-called multiple measures in determining AYP, according to one of his aides. The aide pointed to a July 13 letter from the Education Trust and civil rights groups calling for “extreme caution” in allowing for scores from new tests to be used in calculating AYP. Any such alternate tests would “dilute Title I’s clear focus on the literacy and mathematics skills that students need” and could confuse parents because of conflicting information.

The interesting subtext here is the politics. Several press reports have pointed out Republican divisions over NCLB. But here we’re seeing the Democratic divide.

The groups that signed the July 13 letter are part of the Democratic coalition (e.g. the Center for American Progress, the National Council of La Raza, and the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights). So are the groups that comprise the Forum on Educational Accountability, which is working hardest to introduce new tests into the AYP structure. The Forum includes the NEA, AFT, and a host of other groups traditionally aligned with Democrats.

FairTest—which is spearheading the coalition—goes so far as to say that tests under NCLB should “first help teachers to teach better, and secondly contribute, when they are technically adequate, to accountability information.” That proposal will never fly to believers that statewide testing should be the central element of any accountability system.

What does this mean for efforts to get an NCLB bill ready for the House to consider?

Aaron Albright, the press secretary for Democrats on the Education and Labor Committee, said Miller is “working hard to introduce a bill as soon as possible, and we are working in a bipartisan way.”

McKeon tells CQ that he believes the Education and Labor Committee won’t vote on an NCLB bill before Congress adjourns for August recess.

A version of this news article first appeared in the NCLB: Act II blog.

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read