Business Leaders Weigh in on NCLB
Many in the business community recognize that the continuing
success of public education, which educates 90% of all
Americans, is essential not only for America's democracy,
but also for its economic health. Accordingly, business
groups have weighed in on education, educational reforms
and NCLB. Although these groups do not always agree
with other stakeholders, their input is essential, as
is understanding their perspective. In this article,
we report on three national business groups that are
active in the field of education and have positions
on aspects of NCLB: Achieve,
Inc., the Committee
for Economic Reform and The
Business Roundtable.
The Organizations
Achieve, Inc. calls itself an independent, bipartisan,
non-profit organization created by the nation's governors
and corporate leaders to help states raise academic
standards, improve assessments and strengthen accountability
to prepare all young people for postsecondary education,
work and citizenship.
The Committee for Economic Development (CED) describes
itself as a non-profit, non-partisan organization of
business and education leaders "dedicated to policy
research on the major economic and social issues of
our time." Its trustees are leaders of major corporations
and university presidents.
The Business Roundtable is an association of chief
executive officers of leading U.S. corporations. The
Roundtable says it is committed to advocating public
policies that ensure vigorous economic growth, a dynamic
global economy, and the well-trained and productive
U.S. workforce essential for future competitiveness.
Achieve,
Inc.
Among Achieve's many activities in the area of education
are: analysis of tests and standards; helping states
develop model standards and tests; and providing information.
Its website provides articles, publications, and links
to state standards.
NCLB: In Summer 2002, Achieve produced a publication
on NCLB, entitled "No
Child Left Behind: Meeting Challenges, Seizing Opportunities,
Improving Achievement." In this publication,
Achieve recommends steps to maintain the integrity of
tests while implementing the mandates of NCLB. For example,
despite the pressure to deliver timely test results,
Achieve cautions against eliminating open-ended questions
or using "off-the-shelf" tests. The publication
also recommends using the pressure of NCLB to convince
legislators and policymakers to build capacity to assist
low-performing schools. Achieve focuses specifically
on improving professional development and providing
a rich curriculum aligned with state standards.
Achieve's website also provides current articles on
selected NCLB topics.
Committee
for Economic Development
CED has several positions and publications regarding
education in America, specifically covering: preschool,
school funding and testing. CED strongly supports preschool
for all from age 3 and has published "Preschool
for All," in which it calls on federal and
state governments to make early education available
to all children age 3 and older.
CED has also put forth a statement
on public school finance advocating reform of school
financing systems in order to align them with standards-based
reform. While recognizing that capacity needs to be
built in public schools and that the state bears the
primary responsibility for funding, CED also advocates
such measures as performance pay for teachers and charter
schools.
In addition, CED supports testing which is valid, reliable
and stable. In its statement on testing, "Measuring
What Matters," CED asserts that accurately
measuring student achievement is essential for effective
schools reform; however it also recognizes that "measuring
educational performance is not the same as improving
it." Therefore, in addition to advocating the appropriate
use of accurate tests, CED also advocates building teacher
capacity. Among its recommendations for testing are:
using multiple indicators, using high quality tests
which are designed for specific states, testing all
students, allowing for different starting points among
schools, using longitudinal or "value-added"
measures in addition to static measures, incorporating
evaluation mechanism into testing systems , and recognizing
the uncertainty of testing.
NCLB: In response to NCLB, CED published an
update
to "Measuring What Matters." The update
outlines three main challenges posed by NCLB regarding
testing: (1) making sure test results accurately measure
and report student achievement; (2) ensuring that teaching
focuses on important skills and knowledge, not test
questions; and (3) ensuring that low-performing schools
are given the help they need to improve. CED warns against
pitfalls inherent in high-stakes testing, such as: narrowing
of curricula, using cheaper tests which are not instructionally
supportive and focusing only on transferring students
and supplemental services when schools may need assistance.
All of CED's publications are available on its website.
The
Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable supports education reform,
especially setting higher standards, testing students
and schools, assisting schools through reward and punishment
systems and improving teacher quality through such measures
as performance pay and professional development. The
organization also supports priorities such as: parental
involvement; learning readiness; school safety and discipline;
and technology.
NCLB: Business Roundtable strongly supports
NCLB. To that end, it has available on its website an
NCLB
toolkit for businesses, which provides key provisions
of NCLB and outlines ways in which businesses can unite,
articulate a message, and lobby at the local and state
level to participate in and influence NCLB implementation.
The website also identifies and "dispels"
what it views as six "myths"
about NCLB: (1) NCLB is a right-wing plot to undermine
public education; (2) NCLB is a "one-size-fits-all"
education reform; (3) NCLB is an unwarranted federal
intrusion into state and local control of schools; (4)
NCLB is an unfunded mandate; (5) NCLB has made public
school teachers more dissatisfied with their jobs; (6)
NCLB forces schools to spend so much time on reading
and math that the civics, geography and other important
subjects must be eliminated.
Many educators, legislators and others would likely
take issue with the characterization of some of these
statements as "myths." For example, many states
have asserted that NCLB is an unwarranted intrusion
into a state and local function. Similarly, several
states, the National Conference of State Legislatures,
the Children's Defense Fund and education finance experts
such as Bill
Mathis have contended that the cost of NCLB far
outweighs the federal funds provided.
The Business Roundtable's publications are available
on its website.
Prepared by Wendy C. Lecker, August 26 2004
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