Obama Education Policy: Beyond No Child Left Behind

Susan Fuhrman Teachers College Lyon, France May 25, 2009

No Child Left Behind: Results

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Improvements on State and Local Tests Less Improvement on National Assessment of Educational Progress Small gains for 4 th and 8 th graders in reading, slightly more in math; virtually no gains for 12 th graders Achievement gap remains Instruction focused on tested subjects Graduation rate not improved Greater acceptance of federal role although resentment of narrow, one-size fits all approach

Obama Education Policy

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Extensive agenda: early childhood through workforce development Sees education as foundation for a post-boom economy; we will succeed only if we educate all citizens to “rigorous college-and-career ready” standards; become number 1 in the world in high school and college completion Sees the federal government as a leading player Seized the opportunity of the Great Recession to vastly expand education funding

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: the Stimulus

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$100b to education (compared to typical federal education budget of $60b) State Fiscal Stabilization Fund $48b to states

• By formula; first round released in April • To avoid layoffs, save jobs (recession could have

cost 575,00 teacher jobs)

• States have to give assurances to get second round

of this money in fall: progress toward high quality standards and assessments; establishment of longitudinal data systems; improving teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution; effective interventions for lowest performing schools

Stimulus continued

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Additional Title I and Special Education School Improvement Fund $3.1b targeted to neediest schools(6 fold increase) More technology funding Competitive grants of $5 bill

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Race to the Top for states $4.35b (1/2 must go to localities) Innovation Fund for districts and non-profits $650 m

Effective Reforms

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Race to the Top and Innovation Fund must: Support high quality standards; assessments Enhance data systems that can be used in feedback loops Improve human and social capital and support systems Turnaround lowest performing schools

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Other programs in Stimulus and President’s Budget

Expansion of early childhood programs and investment in quality, coordination and parent information Promise Neighborhoods Rewarding effective teachers Increasing College Access:

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More Pell money; making grants mandatory Increasing student loans Direct lending Access and Completion Incentive Fund Promoting Community service

What’s likely to happen to No Child Left Behind

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Secretary Duncan is on a listening tour ‘NCLB’ is not used as a name; ESEA is Likely to give states additional flexibility-- certainly around accountability but also perhaps around frequency of testing Likely to redefine “schools in need of improvement” Additional funding already seen

What I’d like to see:

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Race to the Top, Innovation Funds to support curriculum development with aligned assessment Serious research on assessment—”moonshot” Much more federal investment in “Development” More state flexibility/experimentation, especially around accountability Careful evaluation P-16 articulation

What I’m Worried About:

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Speed—money needs to be spent quickly to save jobs; not compatible with careful development efforts. E.g., speed to develop a common core of standards; treating ‘college readiness’ as a separate block in standards and assessment “Falling off a Cliff ” phenomenon in 2 years Lack of capacity Difficulty of integrating across departments (e.g., Early Childhood) Virtual absence of research (except in Race to the Top)