From Testing to Big Brother: 'No Child' Debate Moves to Federal Oversight
From Testing to Big Brother: 'No Child' Debate Moves to Federal Oversight
A focus on testing has overshadowed conversations on accountability and the federal government's role in education.
By Allie Bidwell
Feb. 3, 2015 | 5:44 p.m. EST
As lawmakers continue to move toward a compromise on updating No Child Left Behind, they appear to be slowly steering the conversation away from standardized testing and toward federal oversight of public education. While there's a growing consensus that the federal role needs to be scaled back, it's unclear whether Democrats and Republicans can agree on how far that reduction in power should go.
Over the last few weeks, key members of the Senate and House – including Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who chairs the House education committee, and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio – have come out in support of maintaining annual testing requirements. The American Federation of Teachers, the nation's second-largest teachers union, also has said the federal requirement should stay in place. With the debate over testing nearly settled, the next target for compromise is the federal role and how much say the Department of Education should have in state accountability systems.
"My own view is that the government ought to enable and encourage – not mandate – innovation," Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said at a Senate education committee hearing Tuesday. "It can do this well."
Alexander's draft legislation significantly limits the power of the federal Department of Education and education secretary. The secretary of education could not, for example, revoke a state's No Child Left Behind waiver over inadequate performance. The secretary and department would also have little or no input on how states develop school accountability systems.
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http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/02/03/no-child-left-behind-debate-moves-from-testing-to-federal-oversight