Education

Checker & Rick: Change NCLB’s Goals

October 15, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Chester E. Finn Jr. and Frederick M. Hess (aka Checker and Rick) keep saying that NCLB, as as its currently constructed, won’t result in better schools. Their first point is always that the goal of universal proficiency needs to change.

The current goal is “noble but determinedly unrealistic,” as Hess writes with Rosemary Kendrick in this Education Week commentary. In this piece for The Education Gadfly, Hess and Finn call the goal “noble yet naïve.”

“The inevitable result is cynicism and frustration among educators and a ‘compliance’ mentality among state and local officials,” they write.

The best course, they conclude in the Gadfly, is for the federal government to focus on specific tasks. Among them are setting “common standards” (aka “national standards”) and “promot[ing] a clear understanding of what constitutes unacceptable school performance.”

Just last week, President Bush restated his belief the NCLB’s goal should remain. Secretary Spellings has defended the goal in recent speeches (see here and here). But Finn, Hess, and others are starting a drumbeat against it. Will they be able to change the debate in reauthorization?

You can hear Finn and Hess state their case at this event to promote their new book on NCLB.

A version of this news article first appeared in the NCLB: Act II blog.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Student Achievement K-12 Essentials Forum How to Build and Scale Effective K-12 State & District Tutoring Programs
Join this free virtual summit to learn from education leaders, policymakers, and industry experts on the topic of high-impact tutoring.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: April 16, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Quiz ICYMI: Do You Know What 'High-Quality Curriculum' Really Means?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of curricula.
iStock/Getty
Education Quiz ICYMI: Lawsuits Over Trump's Education Policies And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of money symbol, books, gavel, and scale of justice.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Quiz ICYMI: Trump Moves to Shift Special Ed Oversight And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP