Our country's main statue providing federal support for public education, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is overdue for renewal. Formerly an area of bipartisan cooperation, it has fallen victim to shifts in partisan attitudes, mainly on the Republican side; a sizable number of Republican members now want to abolish the Department of Education altogether. The prospects for ESEA renewal are thus highly uncertain, and we have depended on year-to-year appropriations to keep vital programs going.

The most recent ESEA reauthorization, known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), was intended to bring greater accountability to public education. Under the law, each school is held accountable for the average score of its students on a variety of standardized tests, as well as the scores of each of nine subgroups of students. I supported the bipartisan NCLB Act in 2002 because it was intended to help state and local school districts and teachers diagnose shortcomings, apply remedies, and improve student learning. Perhaps ESEA's most important component is so-called Title One funding, which supports schools in low income areas to close the achievement gap. NCLB fell short of its potential during the George W. Bush administration, when the needed remedies were underfunded and, in too many places, it simply resulted in labeling schools "failing."

Tests are imperfect instruments for measuring learning. There is a danger that instructors will "teach to the test" in order to show the needed aggregate proficiency rates, rather than providing a framework for conceptual understanding and instilling in students a real love of learning. I have heard from many parents, teachers, and education leaders in the Fourth District who are concerned about the unintended consequences of NCLB, and I will be keeping these concerns in mind if and when Congress debates its reauthorization. In the meantime, I am hopeful that initiatives such as President Obama's Race to the Top initiative will promote greater reforms and innovation within the current ESEA framework. In 2010, North Carolina was awarded $400 million in Race to the Top funding to promote the state's plans to raise student test scores, increase high school graduation rates, and better prepare graduates for college and careers. The state's plan focuses on ensuring great teachers and principals; setting statewide standards and assessments; making data-driven decisions; and improving the lowest achieving schools.

As your Member of Congress, I will continue to work with the President and my colleagues to improve our schools and to give every American child a fair chance to fulfill their potential.

Additional Information:

• U.S. Department of Education information on reauthorizing ESEA can be found here.
• House Committee on Education and the Workforce
• Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
• North Carolina Race to the Top