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One of my top priorities in Congress is ensuring that our nation’s youth receive a quality education. Regardless of race, religion, income level, residency, age, or learning ability - everyone should have access to a strong education. For this reason, I have supported legislation to make education more affordable and comprehensive at all levels.
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was created in 2001. Although founded on good intentions, this program has been poorly executed. NCLB enforces a one-size fits all system where teachers are evaluated based on how their students perform on standardized tests, therefore teachers began to “teach to the test.” This flaw led to negative consequence for students with disabilities and gifted students alike who did not receive proper individual attention. I continue to work with local school districts and governments to correct the shortcomings of NCLB.
While we must continue to fund education programs, we also must reform programs that are no longer effective and that fall short of our standards. During our current economic situation, we must prioritize and examine every dollar we spend. We must raise standards, improve assessments and abandon a system based on group standards rather than individual assessments. We must improve low-performing schools by recruiting, retaining and supporting effective educators while ensuring equitable distribution of these professionals. Finally, we must provide states with the support and resources to succeed by giving control over education back to the local communities.
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