NCLB: What it will take to get it right

AFT president Edward J. McElroy reiterated the union’s position on NCLB in a Jan. 5 message to AFT leaders, where he noted that although the AFT supports the goals of No Child Left Behind—including high academic standards, meaningful accountability and well-qualified school staff—the “NCLB train has slipped off the tracks.”

The way to get back on the tracks, he said, is by improving assessments, accountability, school interventions, staffing and funding.

Everything in this law hangs on adequate yearly progress (AYP), the law’s mechanism for holding schools accountable. But “AYP is fundamentally flawed,” said McElroy. “We need to change AYP so it doesn’t continue to misidentify schools that are making real progress and steer resources away from the schools and students who need them most.”

The law needs to provide research-based help for schools, like smaller class sizes, targeted resources for struggling students, high-quality professional development and better early childhood programs. The law’s current interventions “are not research-based and, to date, have generally proven to be ineffective and unworkable.”

The law also needs to address teaching and learning conditions, school leadership, professional preparation and support if the U.S. is going to close the achievement gap. Compensation for everyone, but particularly for paraprofessionals, has not been commensurate with this law’s increased qualification requirements.

Finally, the law should provide the resources needed to meet the new, rigorous requirements for students and teachers.

Although other organizations and coalitions have issued documents and statements on No Child Left Behind, the AFT chose to prepare its own set of recommendations and will be urging the new Congress to make the necessary changes to the law.

For more information on NCLB, visit the AFT Web site (www.aft.org/topics/nclb/index.htm). Also be sure to visit the NCLB: Let’s Get It Right campaign blog (www.letsgetitright.org) and join the discussion.