"One of "the greatest symbols of America -- a symbol that every child must be taught and every child must learn," according to former Education Secretary Rod Paige, has been ripped down. A little red schoolhouse attached to the Department of Education's main entrance on Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, was a symbol of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, President George Bush's signature legislation.
The Obama administration has made clear that means a new name and image for a law that has grown unpopular with many teachers and suburban parents, even though it was enacted with bipartisan support in Congress. "It's like the new Coke. This is a rebranding effort," said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. The law dramatically expanded the federal role in public schools. It mandates math and reading testing for millions of students and penalizes schools with too many youngsters who fail those exams.
Lawmakers have yet to tackle an overhaul, and Obama's Education Secretary Arne Duncan has not offered specifics on how he would like to see the law revamped. But the administration has said it will not back down from testing students or holding schools accountable. Duncan has said he wants even higher standards that measure U.S. students against peers worldwide. But he said states and schools should have more flexibility in achieving goals. Read more in The Washington Post online.