Congress is earning an ‘F’
Published 12:01 am Thursday, September 1, 2011
Statewide test results released Tuesday show Washington students making impressive strides in math and science, and maintaining high passing rates in reading and writing. Meanwhile, on-time graduation rates continue their upward trend.
Yet as they move forward, a flawed scorecard still has too many of our state’s schools falling behind.
By the official federal yardstick, more Washington schools and districts were classified as failing this year, despite the overall progress. Three-quarters of the state’s 295 districts failed to make adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind act, which triggers financial and other sanctions that make catching up even harder.
In 2014, that well-meaning but deeply flawed law calls for all students to be proficient in math and reading, a standard that Democrats and Republicans in Congress agree is impossible and must be adjusted.
Such general agreement hasn’t led to a rewrite of the nearly decade-old law, though. Congressional dysfunction, it seems, extends beyond arguments over spending and taxes.
To head off a coming train wreck, the Obama administration announced last month that it will override the 2014 mandate, a centerpiece of the law. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he’ll grant waivers to states that have, in the department’s judgment, adopted adequate testing, accountability and school-improvement programs.
That’s a whole lot of discretion for Congress to cede to the executive branch — and further evidence of congressional leadership’s abject failure to work across party lines to prioritize and act on critical issues.
Given that reality, the administration was right to step in. A Congress that won’t do its job left it no choice.
No Child Left Behind’s goals were laudable — states set learning standards, which are measurable, and then are held accountable for ensuring all students reach them. But the execution was simplistic and one-sided, providing sticks for failure and few carrots for success.
Thoughtful changes that retain high expectations and incentives to ensure the success of all students, but don’t yank resources away from schools that need them most, shouldn’t be so hard to make. Overall, Washington schools are making progress despite budget cuts. Educators and students are working hard, and it’s paying off. Policymakers have made wise changes, like having high school students take math tests at the end of a course instead of later, when what they learned isn’t as fresh in their minds.
Now Congress needs to do its job and rewrite No Child Left Behind. Simply giving up and letting the administration change such policy unilaterally is an abdication of its constitutional responsibility.
