Katie Couric's Notebook: No Child Left Behind
Video: Do standardized tests truly measure how well our kids perform in school and in life?
That's what some educators are asking since No Child Left Behind is up for congressional renewal this year.
President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law in 2002. It requires schools to test students in reading and math annually in grades 3 to 8. Schools that fail to make progress face severe penalties...New proposals would make the penalties even harsher.
Schools SHOULD be held to high standards. But some argue high stakes testing has forced teachers to "teach to the test," giving schools an excuse to cut civics and art classes because they're not a part of federal tests.
Parents and teachers should work TOGETHER on decisions about what and HOW children learn, and find sensible ways to measure that. And Washington should do ITS homework and not just rubber stamp the bill.
That's a page from my Notebook.