Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Shares Plans for NCLB Reauthorization in 2010

On Thursday, September 24, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussed his hopes for reauthorizing No Child Left Behind, speaking at a monthly NCLB stakeholder meeting (2009, . Scheduled for reauthorization in 2007, NCLB has been the target of controversy, criticism, and calls for revision or outright abandonment by educational scholars and stakeholder groups.

While acknowledging NCLB’s flaws, including problems with its testing and school accountability provisions, Duncan believes NCLB has successfully focused the nation’s attention on achievement gap issues, stating he will continue to press forward to increase student achievement and equitable outcomes for students.

In addition, he commented, "The biggest problem with NCLB is that it doesn't encourage high learning standards. In fact, it inadvertently encourages states to lower them. The net effect is that we are lying to children and parents by telling kids they are succeeding when they are not."

Duncan’s comments are sure to stir more controversy and comment from policy makers, researchers, and educators alike. For a more complete accounting of his speech, go to the Department of Education’s press release at http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/09/%2009242009.html. This site also includes video and print links to his speech.

For an interesting presentation of opinions for and against NCLB’s planned reauthorization, Diane Ravitch and John Chubb discuss their views in a forum reported in Education Next (Summer, 2009). This thought-provoking debate may be accessed online at http://educationnext.org/
the-future-of-no-child-left-behind/

What are your thoughts? What do you see as the implications of NCLB’s reauthorization for schools?

References

Ravitch, D., & Chubb, J. (2009). The future of No Child Left Behind: End it? Or mend it? [Electronic
version]. Education Next, 9(3), 1-10. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://educationnext.org/the-future-of-no-child-left-behind/

U.S. Department of Education. (2009). Secretary Duncan says rewrite of 'No Child Left Behind' should
start now; Reauthorization can't wait. [Press release]. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://
www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/09/09242009.html