Congress in Chaos: Don't Leave Our Students Behind!

“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” - Michelle Obama

The No Child Left Behind Act, the sixth and most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was designed with the grand aspirations of closing achievement gaps and highlighting inequities in our educational systems. While it set fundamental expectations that all children can learn and every school should be held responsible for their students’ academic performance, it completely failed to deliver on its espoused objectives.

After more than a decade, the era of “No Child Left Untested” finally appears to be ending. In July, both chambers of Congress passed versions of a reauthorization bill for the ESEA, ending federal test-based accountability and allowing states to decide the weight of those standardized tests in their accountability systems. While the bill does maintain that states must still use some standardized testing, it also leaves room for other types of academic assessment. However, some are worried that recent developments in Congress could lead to a delay in ESEA’s reauthorization, notably, John Boehner’s resignation announcement. As the last of the original architects of No Child Left Behind, who bipartisan ranks included former Representatives Ted Kennedy and George Miller, Boehner’s presence assuaged concerns over compromise efforts between the House and Senate’s versions of the ESEA rewrite. Unfortunately, many are now worried that his sudden departure will cause a delay in the reauthorization, as less-experienced members of the polarized parties duke it out over details in the disparate versions of the bill.

This is not the time to let party politics get in the way of actual progress.

While NCLB was designed with noble intentions, its emphasis on standardized testing as the main form of accountability prevented it from meeting its objectives. I’m not a fan of standardized testing as the only form of assessment; it’s part of what led me to found a lifelong learning portfolio company Pathbrite, and I’m not surprised to hear that many educators and parents aren’t fans either. A Gallup survey shows that 61% of the American public oppose using students’ scores on standardized tests to evaluate a teacher’s performance, and a separate NEA survey found that 45% of teachers in the study have considered leaving the profession due to the emphasis on standardized testing.

Overuse of standardized testing leaves little room for formative, real-time assessment of learning, where information can have the most impact, and corrupts the learning process for students. What we need now is to limit the deployment of bubble tests in favor of more holistic methods of teaching and learning. If we want to hold schools accountable and show that all students can learn, then what we need now is continuous evidence-based assessment.

Students deserve an engaging learning experience that gives them the tools they need to succeed in the real world. Unlike standardized testing -- a form of assessment that we rarely, if ever, would face in the real world; evidence-based assessment methods such as digital portfolios provide an authentic and realistic means of assessing students’ effort, applied knowledge, achievement, and growth over time.

As students move through their academic careers, the process of submitting work to their portfolios offers reflective learning opportunities, encourages the development of critical thinking, meta-learning and metacognitive skills, and demonstrates proof of their progress and growth. Instead of graduating with just a GPA and a set of test scores, students would leave school with actual evidence of everything they have learned -- evidence they can leverage for college applications or future professional opportunities.  

We have an opportunity now to make some real changes in America’s educational system, and delaying the conference on the ESEA will only harm the thousands of students and teachers in this country. It’s not enough to give schools another waiver for another year. It’s not enough to agree on how to test all students. It’s not enough to tell schools to improve test scores. We need to get back to the real work of determining how to deliver high quality education to all of our nation’s students. All children--black or white, rich or poor--already possess all of the inherent desires and attributes they need to learn, grow and succeed. Let’s focus our attention on finding better ways to help our teachers and communities teach these eager learners. This is an historic moment that will shape the future of education in this country, and it would be imprudent to allow partisan politics to get in the way. No legislation is perfect, but Congress should put aside their bickering and come to a reasonable compromise on the ESEA that is strong, flexible, and ensures accountability, before this legislative fiasco impedes our children’s education any further.

Only then can we get to work on what really matters: educating all our young people, and preparing and developing the next generation of our nation’s citizens for the unique opportunities and challenges that lay ahead.