FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2006
CONTACT: Steve Forde
Telephone: (202) 225-4527

U.S. House Education Leaders Announce

Series of Hearings on Implementation, Impact of

No Child Left Behind Act

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the Committee’s Senior Democrat George Miller (D-CA), and Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman Mike Castle (R-DE) today announced their plans to continue to examine the implementation and impact of the landmark 2002 No Child Left Behind Act through a new series of hearings to be held by the House Education & the Workforce Committee over the next several months. 

 

During the past several years, the panel has held ten hearings on topics ranging from the law’s overall implementation and its “persistently dangerous schools” provision to school choice provisions under No Child Left Behind and the impact of the law on children with disabilities.  The education reform law is scheduled to be renewed next year, and the upcoming series of hearings is expected to lay the groundwork for the congressional reauthorization effort.

 

“We have come a long way since the original law was written in 2001 and 2002, and we are learning more every day how this law is working in certain areas, how the achievement gap is closing, and what changes may need to be made,” said Castle.  “I was proud to help craft No Child Left Behind, and as we examine this law and prepare for its reauthorization, nothing is more important than hearing from the teachers, administrators, principals, students, and parents who are affected by it.  I look forward to this comprehensive series of hearings and learning how we can strengthen No Child Left Behind in the years to come.”

 

The first in the series of hearings will be held next Thursday, May 18.  This hearing will examine the impact of No Child Left Behind’s focus on reading and math instruction, as well as what creative educators are doing to incorporate a wide variety of subjects into their classroom instruction.

 

“After decades of failed reform efforts, coupled with hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars spent with little or no success in closing the achievement gap, the impact of No Child Left Behind has been dramatic – and a positive step forward for students, teachers, parents, and taxpayers,” noted McKeon.  “As we approach next year’s renewal of the law, which may prove to be the most critical reauthorization No Child Left Behind will ever see, our Committee is dedicated to a deliberate, responsible examination of the facts.”

 

In the upcoming months, the Education & the Workforce Committee will continue the series of hearings, which will focus on many critical aspects of No Child Left Behind.  Topics may include: 

  • Adequate Yearly Progress, the law’s method of examining how well schools and districts improve academic outcomes for students;

  • The impact of allowing states to determine varying minimum subgroup sizes for purposes of disaggregating student outcomes in order to determine a school’s adequate yearly progress;

  • A look at how growth models are currently being used by states and an examination of how they might be incorporated into accountability systems under No Child Left Behind;

  • A review of how graduation rates are being measured under No Child Left Behind;

  • An overview of the role of academic assessments used to determine student proficiency in math and reading under No Child Left Behind;

  • The effect of No Child Left Behind on students with disabilities and limited English proficiency students;

  • Parental involvement during the No Child Left Behind era;

  • The role of school choice and supplemental educational services in the implementation and reauthorization of No Child Left Behind; and  

  • The impact of teacher quality standards under No Child Left Behind.

I thank Chairman McKeon for convening these hearings on the No Child Left Behind law, and for doing so in an open and bipartisan way,” concluded Miller.  “As we get closer to the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, we must closely examine what works with the law and what needs to be improved.  These hearings are an important first step in learning how we can best ensure that we meet the goals of No Child Left Behind: closing the achievement gap; getting all children proficient in reading, math, and science; and ensuring that all children are taught by highly qualified teachers.

 

The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law on January 8, 2002, represents the first ever bipartisan effort to bring true accountability and flexibility to federal education programs.  The law reflects four essential pillars of education reform: accountability, flexibility and local control, funding for what works, and expanded parental options.  The law is a comprehensive overhaul of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was enacted in 1965 and is the principal federal law affecting K-12 education. 

# # # # #

Press Releases