| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 13, 2007 Contact: Mark Schultz Phone: 800-369-6283, ext. 3630 The National Council of Teachers of English Calls on Congress to Revamp
the No Child Left Behind Act The 50,000 members of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) affirm the principles of educational equity that shape No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCTE members are dedicated to closing the achievement gap through accountability, flexibility, and high quality instruction. Although the implementation of NCLB legislation has not always led to the desired ends, we believe that full funding and changes in the law could yield more positive results. Therefore, NCTE recommends that the following changes be made in NCLB through the 2007 reauthorization process. 1. Multiple assessments are needed for an accurate portrait of the academic achievement of all students. No single test can provide an accurate portrait of students and schools. Smarter, more nuanced assessments can provide better information on achievement without increasing the testing burden and wasting valuable instructional time. Accordingly, NCTE recommends that multiple assessments be used to determine student and school progress and that assessment data be made available to teachers in a timely fashion so they can use it to shape instruction. 2. Teacher quality is an important factor in enhancing learning. NCTE recommends increasing federal funding for capacity building in schools and districts. Title II funds need to be set aside for the on-going professional development of educators, not merely for class size reduction (the focus of most current spending). 3. High-need students should have the best prepared and most experienced teachers. Unfortunately, the least prepared and least experienced teachers are disproportionately assigned to schools with the greatest need for expert literacy instruction. NCTE, therefore, recommends that federal programs be designed to support highly prepared, experienced teachers in schools with the greatest number of high-need students. In addition, providers of supplementary services should also be highly prepared teachers. 4. Reading First, as the report of the Office of Inspector General in the U.S. Department of Education shows, has been riddled with ethical and legal violations which excluded many researchers from the grants evaluation process. To improve the reliability of grant review, NCTE urges that an objective peer review system be adopted that empowers independent panels of scholars representing multiple perspectives to make recommendations on the basis of observable data. Re-examining the definition of “scientifically based reading research” under NCLB will improve the coherence and impact of the bill. NCTE recommends a definition that aligns with that of the National Research Council, emphasizing peer review and multiple methodologies. Finally, as required by law, rigorous research on the impacts of Reading First should be conducted. 5. NCTE supports the adoption of growth models to track increased achievement and provide longitudinal data based on the performance of individual students and subgroups. Instead of the existing Adequate Yearly Progress measure that compares different groups of students to chart achievement, growth models (currently in use in several states) track growth of the same students over time, a more accurate indicator of academic success. In particular, growth models provide a more valid means of measuring success for English Language Learners (ELLs) and at-risk students, who need extended time to achieve and maintain proficiency in literacy. See NCTE’s entire NCLB Recommendations document at http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/gov/126451.htm . ###
The National Council of Teachers of English, with 50,000 individual and institutional members worldwide, is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. For more information, please visit www.ncte.org. |