Rep. George Miller said last month that NCLB “is not fair, not flexible, and is not funded.” In response to one question on this PBS Web chat, the chairman of the House education committee lays out three things he wants to change about the law:
1.) Revise assessments “so they measure critical thinking, problem solving, and other important skills.” New tests could reduce the amount of test-prep and “drill-and-kill” of “low-level skills,” he writes.
2.) Create growth models to “ensure that teachers get credit” for raising test scores across the achievement spectrum, as well as for helping students on the bubble between basic achievement and proficiency.
3.) Spur “more relevant and rigorous” standards by requiring states to ensure their standards are linked to the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in college or the workplace.
In the response to another question, Rep. Miller says science labs are the types of performance measures he would like to see included in the reauthorized NCLB.
See also the answers from Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., the senior Republican on the committee. He agrees that standards should be tied to college and workplace readiness and that AYP should be determined by student growth. But he’s silent on Rep. Miller’s ideas to assess critical-thinking skills and to include performance-based measures.
Over the next month or two, we’ll see if these two can bridge their differences on testing and other issues.
