No Child Left Behind needs work

Published 9:03 pm Thursday, August 11, 2011

This week, U.S. Department of Education officials announced an initiative that allows states to apply for waivers from some of the stringent requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001.

While the details of the plan are yet to be announced, the fact federal officials are discussing flexibility in what has been a strictly enforced and strictly run program since it began is refreshing.

The directive of the law is that students must be reading or performing math at their grade level by 2014, an objective many thought would be tough to reach when the bill was enacted and an objective many know — nearly 10 years later — is very unlikely to happen at all.

Our comments on this legislation in no way should be misinterpreted as wanting less accountability in our schools or lower standards. Quite the contrary.

The accountability and standards set forth by this legislation are well intentioned and set goals our schools should be shooting for.

But when the goals and objectives change each year and schools that are improving are labeled failures, that is when the best intentions of this bill fall flat.

“It is a problem when improvements — real improvements — are taking place and they are not noticed,” Dr. Donald Jefferson, superintendent of Selma City Schools, said this week. “But, the parts of the bill that drive the statistics down to the basic level — to a particular child — are good.

We entrust our schools, our educators, with the future of our community — our nation — each day of the school year. There should be goals, there should be accountability and there should be standards set for schools to meet.

But, when those objectives, those goals, are unrealistic and unable to be met, then what good are they?  The best intentions of this legislation should be kept and strengthened. If they are, there is little doubt our children, our schools and our nation will be better served.