Bush Gives Ultimatum On Education Law

(AP)  President Bush said Monday that if Congress doesn't reauthorize the No Child Left Behind education law, he'll make as many changes as he can on his own.

Bush also said that if Congress does renew the law but weakens it in the process, he'd "strongly oppose it and veto it"

That scenario seems unlikely for now, since the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Education Committee have said they would put off rewriting the six-year-old law until later this year.

The law requires math and reading tests in grades three through eight, and once in high school. Schools that miss testing benchmarks face increasingly stiff sanctions. Bush regards the law, which took effect in 2002, as one of the signature domestic achievements of his presidency, and sees expanding it as key to his legacy.

If the law isn't revised by Congress, the existing law stands.

There is broad agreement that it should be changed to encourage schools to measure individual student progress over time instead of using snapshot comparisons of certain grade levels. There also is a consensus that the law should be changed so that schools that miss progress goals by a little don't face the same consequences as schools that miss them by a lot.

But deep divisions remain over some proposed changes, including merit pay for teachers and whether schools should be judged based on test scores in subjects other than reading and math.

Many educators and lawmakers who once supported it now say the law has failed to live up to its promise. One of the law's lead original authors, Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, defended it, praising what he said are modest improvements that have seen so far. But in an op-ed published in The Washington Post, Kennedy ticked off a series of needed reforms.

Most of all, Kennedy called it "disgraceful" that Bush - his former partner in passing the law - has failed to include adequate funding for school reform in his education budgets. "Struggling schools can do only so much on a tin-cup budget," Kennedy wrote.

"Clearly I don't agree with that," responded Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, who traveled with Bush to Chicago. She said federal education funding is up about 46 percent since Bush took office.

Bush laid out what he said were some changes he would consider making administratively if lawmakers fail to act: ensuring "that a high school degree means something," increasing flexibility for states and school districts, providing extra help for struggling schools, and devising an accurate system for measuring high school dropout rates.

"There are things we can do, and must do, by working together," he said during an appearance at Horace Greeley Elementary School in Chicago.

"I believe the country needs to build upon the successes" of the law, Bush said. "It's not worthwhile to guess when a child's future is at stake."

Greeley was chosen as the backdrop for Bush to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the law's signing because the school has thrived under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The school, where 70 percent of students are Hispanic and 92 percent are low-income, was named a Blue Ribbon School under the program in October, one of just 12 public schools in the state and 239 across the country. Since 2005, 83 percent of Greeley students have met or exceeded state standards, compared to an average of 64 percent for the entire Chicago Public Schools system.

"In fact, Chicago is an example of NCLB's lack of effectiveness," said Dr. Monty Neill, an NCLB critic and executive director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. "The law has failed to raise academic achievement significantly in that city, in other major urban areas or in the nation as a whole."

Also Monday, a federal appeals court revived a lawsuit challenging the law's funding.

The lawsuit argues that schools should not have to comply with requirements that aren't funded by the federal government. Plaintiffs include the Pontiac, Mich., school district and eight districts in Texas and Vermont, along with National Education Association affiliates in several states. The NEA, the nation's largest teachers union, is paying the cost of the appeal.

Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman in Detroit dismissed the lawsuit in November 2005, but his ruling was reversed by a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati in a 2-1 decision released Monday.

Bush is slated to discuss the economy at a separate event Monday afternoon in Chicago. He also gave a boost to Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, appearing briefly for pictures with members of the bid committee. The finalists are to be chosen in June by the International Olympic Committee and the winner will be announced Oct. 2, 2009.

"I can't think of a better city to represent the United States than Chicago," Bush said. "Our hope is that the judges will take a good look at Chicago and select Chicago for the 2016 Olympics."

[katg21]

the only way the DEMOCRATS can have and maintain a base...is to keep the public stupid and dependent..
Posted by libsluvsuvs

So true. Dems promise everything under the sun, offer to make peoples lives easier. It just might work though, I''ve completely lost faith in this country; the values and hard work from which it was built are dwindling away. People would rather have entitlements and let the government make decisions for them. There are way too many weak, lazy and spoiled Americans out there who don''t value anything unless it''s handed to them.

[b-easy63]

NCLB encourages schools to cheat--and for teachers to ''give the answers or big hints to the kids for the tests''

They have been doing this in Iowa for years. The net result is that Iowans lead the nation in test scores but in reality are often woefully behind other states in actual knowledge. My kids transferred from another state to IA and my son had to take his math courses at the local college because the schools did not teach a level as high as his previous school. My elementary aged kids had to sit out of their reading, math and spelling classes because the school was so far behind and they graded on a curve and my kids made the other kids'' scores look bad. When we left that state, my kids had to scramble to catch up to the kids in another state--they were at the top of their education according to IA and on the High Honor roll--they could barely keep a B average when they first arrived in another state. When people prepare for rote answers, they are not teaching , they are accomodating and it shows in how Americans lack cognitive and discernment skills later. It is why we are in the quandry now as a country. People do not know how to think, they know how to process and regurgitate information and pass it off as intelligence.

[b-easy63]

mommy45 - how can you call yourself a mother? You aren''''t helping your son, you are hurting him, enourmously. You think when he goes to get his first job, you can take the interview for him? You can go do his job for him?

Posted by SusanHelit at 03:33 PM : Jan 08, 2008


I think you misunderstand this person. In some school districts, in an effort to get parents more involved, Parents are required to review and check homework and sign off that they have done so. Often, part of the "homework" can require that parents answer questions, give opinions or actually do part of the work.

My daughter brought home an assignment that asked about the worst financial crisis involving the stock market that I or my family had endured, when it happened, who was running the country and what my reaction to it--they even wanted an approximate est of how much I had lost. All in the guise of homework --and THAT must be addressed by the parent and signed for.

[b-easy63]

It was for perjury and nothing else.

Posted by jowand at 06:00 AM : Jan 08, 2008


It was for perjury for persuing information that was not the republicans'' business or anyone else''s except Clinton and the people involved. It was like Bush''s note to blair to start a war with Saddam whether he had WMD or not--if he could not get him on the WMD then he would "goad" him into a compromising action that promised retaliation. Sounds familiar. An ugly Republican Modus Operandi.

[b-easy63]

Before anyone endorses Bush''s "no child left behind" Consider where he is in his educational level and ask the hard question... "if he wants no child left behind, and he has no respect of education or intellect then where is he trying to take the children"? Let behind from what?

[aldee41]

King George the Usurper has chosen an excellent failure as a key part of his "legacy".
The next President will be a Democrat.
Chose wisely. Chose Richardson.

[libsluvsuvs]

the only way the DEMOCRATS can have and maintain a base...is to keep the public stupid and dependent..

[katg21]

I now have to do my son''''s math work for him and sign the math papers daily to prove it or he automatically loses points on his papers.Posted by mommy45

What, you don''t have enough time to sit down with your son and teach him the math? Pathetic. The teachers can only do so much, YOU the parent are responsible too. So sick of people like you who blame everyone else for the *** in your life. Do your job...BE A GOOD PARENT.

[cantshutup]

mommy45...we have mommy''s like you in our school...you are the worst kind of mommy and your kid will prove it when he needs remedial math should he be lucky enough to get into your local community college...

[katg21]

To katg21: I am glad your kids are doing well in public schools, since I (a registered Independent) taught in public schools for 40 years. The problem is that many other children are not doing as well as they could,Posted by exCoachKen

Well I can only speak for my children''s experience and what I have seen in their schools. What I see is that ALL children are receiving every bit of help needed to qualify them to move up to the next grade. If there is difficulty in reading and math, there is special instruction to help them to succeed. Our teachers work hard, the parents work hard and because of this our district is continuously rewarded. I don''t see why this is a bad thing. Children are leaving grade school with the ability to READ where in years past kids graduated high school and weren''t able to get a job because they couldn''t read. These kids were lost in the shuffle, with no child left behind, teachers and students are held accountable.