WASHINGTON — Urging Congress to send him a new education law by fall, President Barack Obama focused Monday on the big concerns of parents and lawmakers alike: how student progress is measured and how schools that fall short are labeled.
Citing new estimates, Obama said four out of five schools may be tagged as failures this year under provisions of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law.
“That’s an astonishing number,” he said. “We know that four out of five schools in this country aren’t failing. So what we’re doing to measure success and failure is out of line.”
Obama’s call for a rewrite of the education law appears unlikely, at least by his September deadline. The House education committee’s Republican chairman acknowledged the need for improvement but called the president’s timeline “arbitrary.”
While the law enacted in 2002 under George W. Bush has become an easy political target, Obama acknowledged that it set the “right goals”: educating all children, having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, and highlighting the achievement gaps between rich and poor, white students and many minorities, and students with and without disabilities.
But he said improvements are needed in measuring student progress and labeling schools that fall short. He called for measuring creativity and critical thinking along with math and reading skills, and for rewarding good teachers while showing little leniency for bad ones.
“In the 21st century, it’s not enough to leave no child behind,” Obama said. “We need to help every child get ahead. We need to get every child on a path to academic excellence.”
During Monday’s appearance at an Arlington, Va., middle school, Obama said he wants a more flexible system focused on preparing graduating high school students for college and career, and assessing whether that goal is being met.
