Changing NCLB Is Top Topic at NEA Convention

Orlando, Fla.

A majority of the 8,200 delegates gathered here for the National Education Association’s annual convention overwhelmingly approved a plan that would push for aggressive changes to the federal No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization next year.

The nation's largest union, whose leaders have often complained they were not allowed to participate in the crafting of the country's chief education law, approved a plan during the July 2-5 meeting that calls on NEA members to lobby Congress for reforms to bring the law more in line with the views of the 2.8 million-member union.

The changes proposed include establishing an accountability system that no longer relies only on testing as the measure of success or failure. Instead, the union recommends designing a system based on multiple benchmarks, including teacher-designed classroom assessments, student portfolios, graduation/dropout statistics, and college-enrollment...