CongressNow March 12, 2009

HEADLINE:  Duncan Calls for Stronger Federal Role in No Child Left Behind

By Stephen Langel

The Obama administration will push for changes to No Child Left Behind legislation that would give the federal government a greater role in setting performance standards for students, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said today.

Congress this year is expected to reauthorize the education law, which sets federal school performance standards with the goal of having all children reading at their grade level by 2014. The program expired Sept. 30, but it continues to receive federal funding.

Testifying at a House Budget Committee hearing, Duncan said that many states have used "dumbed-down standards" that have led NCLB to be ineffective. He said states are "lying to children" when they set inadequate measures. "We need to stop the race to the bottom and start the race to the top," he added.

The measures should not be based on test scores alone, but they also should look at outcomes, such as graduation rates and drop-out rates, Duncan said.

The White House has already allocated significantly more funding for the NCLB program. By providing billions of dollars more for the program, the federal government is "putting our resources where our mouth is," Duncan said.

House Budget Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.) backed Duncan's changes. "I agree with everything he said," Spratt told CongressNow.

Spratt added stronger federal standards would improve the program and be more fair to states such as South Carolina that already have more stringent measures of success.

Duncan said states would still take the lead in deciding how best to reach these standards.

In response to concerns raised by Budget ranking member Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) about a potentially heavy-handed approach, Duncan clarified that states must remain the education innovators.
Duncan also faced pushback from Ryan and other Republicans on other issues, including the administration's position on charter schools.

Republicans questioned why the administration is zeroing out funding for the Washington, D.C., charter school program in this year's budget and argued in favor of its use.

Duncan responded that while charter schools are a good tool to improve education, they are not a long-term solution. A department aide added that the program could be funded again when it is reauthorized.