Keloland Television (Pierre, SD)
June 9, 2011
Headline: Groups asks that NCLB be suspended

By Katie Janssen

PIERRE, SD - No Child Left Behind has been widely criticized for its testing and ranking methods, and now national and state education organizations are calling for the law to be temporarily suspended.

If it's not, a majority of South Dakota schools would be considered "underperforming."

South Dakota student achievement has increased in the nine years since No Child Left Behind was enacted, but still has a long way to go, and time is running out.

"Scores to get to 100 percent have to go up in the next two years by 12.5 percent each year. That's a significant increase over where we are right now," Executive Director of Associated School Boards of South Dakota Wayne Lueders.

Lueders says the law should've been reauthorized three years ago, and there's still no sign it'll happen anytime soon. If something doesn't change, 85 percent of South Dakota schools will be labeled as "needing improvement."

"Sending a wrong message, I believe, to the public that public schools are all of the sudden failing," he said. "We continue to do a good job, but we need some flexibility under No Child Left Behind."

That's why Associated School Boards passed this resolution, urging U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to put a temporary stop to the law while Congress re-writes it.

"We could focus on a different assessment process that doesn't focus so much on achievement but more on growth of students," said Lueders.

Lueders says schools deserve more time to reach achievement benchmarks, and the law needs a major overhaul.

"We need flexibility," he said. "We cannot continue on this path because it's going to be a very negative situation."

Associated School Boards of South Dakota modeled its resolution after those of national education organizations.