NEA President Goes Beyond Party Line in 'No Child' Critique

By Erik W. Robelen

Boston

The pointed critique of the No Child Left Behind Act delivered by a teachers' union leader to the Democratic National Convention July 27 was a sharp contrast to the vague language about the law in the party's platform, approved about two hours earlier.

"[The No Child Left Behind law] is a one-size-fits-all federal mandate that sets the wrong priorities—too much paperwork, bureaucracy, and testing," Reg Weaver, the president of the National Education Association, told nearly 5,000 delegates and alternates at the FleetCenter in Boston. "Our schools are becoming testing factories, not centers...