The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association have stepped up their campaign for changes in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind law as it comes up for reauthorization.

Here are some of the issues the national unions seek to address, as well as specific changes they are seeking and the messages they are sending to Congress.

NCLB Issues

Fundamental flaws of AYP

• NCLB measures schools based solely on two test scores.
• Other academic indicators can only increase number of schools not making AYP.

AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) restricts how test scores are used.

• A snapshot of a single point on the student achievement continuum.
• Fails to acknowledge gains in achievement for those above or below proficient.
• No credit for growth over time for individual students or same cohort of students.
• However, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings allowed North Carolina and Tennessee to use a growth model last year, and Arkansas, Delaware and Florida this year.

AYP is an “all-or-nothing” mechanism.

• For a typical grade there are 37 ways to fail AYP – only one way to pass.
• NCLB fails to distinguish between schools that fail AYP just for one subgroup in one subject versus those that fail AYP for all subgroups in both reading and math.
• Also mandates a “one-size-fits-all” yearly threshold and one starting point for all subgroups.

NCLB is too focused on sanctions.

• All districts with schools failing AYP after two to three years must spend up to 20 percent of Title I money on choice transportation and supplemental services.
• Diverts money from classroom services.
• Schools eventually turned over to the state or private company or turned into charter schools.

Legislative Objectives: Seven Priorities

1. Include multiple measures in a revised AYP accountability system so that AYP is not based solely on standardized test scores.
2. Use growth models to measure changes in student performance.
3. Shift AYP from a system that labels and penalizes schools to one that rewards success.
4. Provide additional common-sense flexibility for assessing and counting test scores of both students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELL).
5. Add a separately funded class size reduction program with class size limits of 15 to improve student learning, with priority given to high poverty schools and which could be phased in over time.
6. Increase flexibility for meeting the “highly qualified” teacher requirements, including teachers of multiple subjects, special education and rural educators.
7. Advance teacher quality at the highest-poverty schools by providing funding to attract and retain quality teachers and improved teaching and learning conditions.

Legislative Objectives: Non-Starters

Would oppose an ESEA reauthorization bill if any of the following were included:

• Private school vouchers
• Undermining of collective bargaining
• Mandated federal requirements for “effective teachers” – any new mandates for highly qualified definition, including evaluations directly tied to student performance or growth model results
• Additional mandated federal testing requirements
• Any mandated merit pay/pay-for-performance requirements, including those directly tied to student performance or growth model results

Three-Part Message to Congress

1) Use more than test scores to measure student learning and school performance.

• Include multiple measures of student learning and school effectiveness instead of the current one-day snapshot based solely on standardized tests.
• Reward progress over time to improve student achievement at all levels.
• Recognize individual needs of students (special education, ELL).

2) Reduce class size to help students learn.

• Restore the class size reduction program.

3) Increase the number of highly qualified teachers in our schools.

• Provide financial incentives to teachers who teach in hard-to-staff schools.
• Allow teachers who have achieved certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to be deemed “highly qualified.”
• Provide flexibility for teachers of multiple subjects, including special education and rural educators.