Education

McKeon’s Response: Close Loopholes, But Don’t Open New Ones

September 17, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Last week, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., decried existing loopholes in the NCLB accountability rules, blaming Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings for letting states off the hook.

Now, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., comes to the secretary’s defense. More importantly, the senior Republican on the education committee hints he’s not committed to several key elements of the Title I discussion draft that he and Chairman Miller released last month.

“Rather than blaming the U.S. secretary of education, I believe our time would be better spent focusing on the future of the law, not its past implementation,” Rep. McKeon writes in this online commentary, which was prompted by Rep. Miller’s own commentary. “But even more than that, I strongly disagree that the solution to our accountability challenges is to close some loopholes while opening others.”

Rep. McKeon says that he believes the Title I draft’s proposals to add so-called multiple measures under NCLB accountability would create problems of their own. Allowing states to use test scores on subjects other than reading and math would take away the law’s current focus on those core subjects. Adding such tests goes against the public outcry against the amount of testing that NCLB currently requires, he writes. Overall, the new measures would be “mechanisms that could lead us down a slippery slope of complexity and confusion,” he says.

Three points:

1.) Ever since the first of the discussion drafts came out Aug. 28, I’ve wondered how open Rep. Miller and Rep. McKeon would be to changes. Rep. McKeon’s essay suggests that he would be happy to ditch the multiple measures.

2.) After making his points about accountability, Rep. McKeon lists his “grave concerns” about access to tutoring and choice. Under the plan, students would be guaranteed such help only if they attend a school that fails to make AYP in almost every subgroup of students. “I cannot lend my support to any bill that significantly diminishes existing options for parents,” he writes. “I think we should be doing more to offer meaningful educational choices, not less.” So he isn’t very enthusiastic about this section of the draft, either.

3.) Two weeks ago, the big issue appeared to be accountability. Last week, it was teachers. Will it be accountability again? Or will something else rise to the surface?

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

Events

Student Well-Being Webinar After-School Learning Top Priority: Academics or Fun?
Join our expert panel to discuss how after-school programs and schools can work together to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss.
Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
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
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata

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: May 17, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: May 3, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: April 26, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: March 29, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read