Spellings, on Tour, Aims to Promote NCLB

Secretary listens to state, local officials, but is quick to stress law's basic goals.

Charleston, W.Va.

In the 15th stop on her intermittent national tour to promote the No Child Left Behind Act, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings found both defenders and critics of the law here in West Virginia this month. And they turned out to be the same people.

The 6-year-old federal law has “been a wake-up call for all of us,” Ron Duerring, the superintendent of the 28,000-student Kanawha County school system, which serves Charleston and the surrounding area, told Secretary Spellings during a one-hour roundtable discussion in the state Capitol on March 7.

But, Mr. Duerring and other participants added, schools’ NCLB-spurred emphasis on getting students to reach proficiency in reading and mathematics has often come at the expense of other subjects and learning...