BEYOND NCLB: NCLB: BEYOND THE COMMISSION ON N O C H I L D L EF T B E H I N D Secretary Tommy G. Thompson Governor Roy E. Barnes Co-Chairs F It’s time to take a bold step forward and to ulfilling the Promise commit to significantly improving NCLB. We must insist on high achievement for all students. Our nation’s children deserve it. O ur N ation’s Children ation’s THE COMMISSION ON Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nation’s Children N O C H I L D L EF T B E H I N D Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nation’s Children The Commission on No Child Left Behind Secretary Tommy G. Thompson Governor Roy E. Barnes Co-Chairs The Commission on No Child Left Behind is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Spencer Foundation. This document is published to communicate the results of the Commission’s work. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in the Commission’s documents are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the donors. Copyright © 2007 by The Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute One Dupont Circle, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036 Published in the United States of America in 2007 by The Aspen Institute All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 0-89843-467-X 07-003 Table of Contents List of Commissioners and Commission Staff 6 Acknowledgments 7 Foreword 9 Introduction: A New Day in American Education 11 Effective Teachers for All Students, Effective Principals for All Communities 29 Accelerating Progress and Closing Achievement Gaps Through Improved Accountability 55 Moving Beyond the Status Quo to Effective School Improvement and Student Options 79 Fair and Accurate Assessments of Student Progress 101 High Standards for Every Student in Every State 117 Ensuring High Schools Prepare Students for College and the Workplace 129 Driving Progress Through Reliable, Accurate Data 139 Additional Elements of a High-Achieving System 147 Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners 147 Strengthening Early Childhood Education 151 Improving Support for Migrant Students 154 A Call to Action 159 Summary of Recommendations 161 Recommendation Tables 170 Bibliography 205 Appendices 219 (A) Summary of Outreach and Research Activities 219 (B) List of Graphs and Charts 227 (C) Common Abbreviations Used 228 (D) Additional View 230 Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nation’s Children The Commission on No Child Left Behind Co-Chairs Secretary Tommy G. Thompson Governor Roy E. Barnes Commissioners Dr. Craig Barrett Mr. Christopher Edley, Jr. Dr. Eugene García Hon. Judith E. Heumann Mr. Thomas Y. Hobart, Jr. Ms. Jaymie Reeber Kosa Ms. Andrea Messina Dr. J. Michael Ortiz Dr. James L. Pughsley Mr. Edward B. Rust, Jr. Dr. Ted Sanders Ms. Jennifer Smith Dr. Ed Sontag Commission Staff Alex Nock, Director Gary Huggins, Director of Policy and Research Jennifer W. Adams, Communications Director Renata Uzzell, Research and Data Analyst Erin Silliman, Administrative Assistant Acknowledgments The Commission would like to first thank our funders. Without their generous support of our work, we would not have been able to produce our recommendations after discussions with and comments from so many citizens, educators, policymakers and others across the country. Our funders—including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Spencer Foundation—are among the leading foundations in improving the quality of education in the United States. We would also like to gratefully acknowledge the Aspen Institute for providing a widely recognized and respected platform for this effort and for continuously supporting our work. Special thanks goes to Walter Isaacson, the President and CEO of the Institute, as well as Peter Reiling, Executive Vice President for Leadership and Policy Programs. The support of these two individuals in helping to form and nurture the Commission was essential to ensuring its effectiveness. Thanks also to Judy Wurtzel, Senior Fellow, for her work to support the Commission in its early stages. We would also be remiss if we did not thank all of the individuals who shared their No Child Left Behind (NCLB) experiences with the Commission during our public hearings, roundtables and school visits, during private meetings and conversations, and those who participated in our school and district profiles. The testimony, letters, e-mails and general comments were essential to helping us understand how NCLB is affecting our schools and communities and enabled us to form our recommendations. Our efforts have been supported by an excellent staff to whom we owe our gratitude. Our hard- working staff includes Alex Nock, Director, whose leadership, policy expertise and management skills were invaluable; Gary Huggins, Director of Policy and Research, who spearheaded our policy development and helped ensure our report truly reflected all of the diverse views on the Commission; Jennifer W. Adams, Communications Director, who ensured the public and press were well-informed about our activities; Renata Uzzell, Research and Data Analyst, whose research and analysis skills were essential to our understanding of achievement in our nation; Erin Silliman, Administrative Assistant, who ensured our many public events went off without a hitch and that our Web site enabled thousands to communicate their ideas with us; and Jean Morra, Alexa Law and Stew Harris, who collectively ensured our Web broadcasts were well done and accessible to all. We would also like to thank Collaborative Communications Group staff and consultants, including Danica Petroshius, who provided seasoned advice and leadership; Beth Schuster, whose project management, research and writing led to a high-quality product; Robert Rothman, whose writing gave a voice to our recommendations; Bill Glover, whose designs brought visual life to our report; Ellen Parker, whose copy editing proved invaluable; Jessica Schwartz Hahn, whose communications support helped the public and press stay informed; Lori Meyer, whose research deepened our understanding of NCLB’s impact; and Susanna Kemp, who provided valuable technical support. Foreword We see evidence every day that we are letting our children down. We hear news stories about low reading scores for young children and teens; we see unconscionably high numbers of students dropping out of school; we hear business owners express frustration at their workers’ lack of skills and the costs of training them; and we spend millions annually on remedial courses for college freshmen. We cannot afford to sit idly by and hope that things will improve. We have a responsibility as a nation to take bold steps to close the achievement gaps that plague our nation’s schools and to ensure that all students are properly prepared for successful and productive lives after high school. Failing to take sustained action will not only result in the continued tragedy of unfulfilled potential, but will also threaten our nation’s economy and future competitiveness in the world. This year, Congress is scheduled to review the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In 2002, this law signaled an important change in federal education policy by focusing on accountability for results rather than simple compliance and by seeking to set the performance bar high for all children, regardless of where they live. NCLB also provided data on student achievement, which has raised our awareness of the quality of education being provided to students across the country. Each of us is now more acutely aware that our future depends on more than just our own children. Our future economic success and security in the world depends on the success of all of the nation’s children. Though the law set us on a more productive course and spurred some improvement, it has not been enough. Far too many children are still not achieving to high standards in every state, and we are not yet making improvements in struggling schools as effectively or as rapidly as we had hoped. The time is now to learn from the successes and struggles of the law and forge a stronger path to a better future. The nation has an important opportunity to move beyond NCLB in its current form and take the steps necessary to fulfill the promise of high achievement for all children. Last February, 15 leaders in education—representing K–12 and higher education, school and school-system governance, civil rights and business—came together to form the Commission on No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan, independent effort dedicated to improving NCLB. Although our members brought a variety of perspectives with them, we were united from the beginning in our commitment to the principles of the law to help every child become proficient and to eliminate persistent achievement gaps that have left too many students behind. 10 Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nation’s Children We were also in agreement that our recommendations would be informed by those who are affected by the law every day. Through the generous support of our funders and the Aspen Institute, we traveled across the country, listening to the stories and experiences of students, teachers, principals, parents, administrators, state and district officials, experts and policymakers. We held public hearings and roundtables, visited schools, wrote profiles of schools and districts, read thousands of comments submitted through our Web site, and researched and analyzed extensive amounts of data. We took our charge seriously. We researched. We listened. And we learned. Our efforts over the past year have helped us gain a deeper understanding of both the successes and the challenges of NCLB and how best to improve the law to ensure a quality education for all students.