State Teachers of the Year speak out on No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
“I applaud the president’s initiative to put education at the top of his policy agenda. I’ve been waiting for that throughout my career,” said IRA member Marguerite Izzo, a fifth-grade teacher at Herber Middle School in Malverne, New York, and this year’s State Teacher of the Year from New York. Still, she sees an overreliance on testing that takes away from instructional time.
“It has not made a big difference,” said IRA member Jan Keese, a third-grade teacher at Crocker Elementary School in Ankeny, Iowa. “I feel like I’ve always tried to hold myself accountable.” But she thinks the professional development component may help teachers who do not have a strong reading background.
“The intent was admirable, but some of the means to the end are not so admirable,” said Lois Rebich, a K–6 instructional support teacher at Ross Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “For those of us who are in the front line and who didn’t have any say in it, we felt that had we been asked for our input, it would have been more palatable for educators across the country.”
These comments reflect the mixed emotions that many State Teachers of the Year have about the No Child Left Behind legislation, which was drafted with the aim of improving education by increasing standards of accountability and using scientifically based materials and strategies in the classroom and for professional development. The law is up for reauthorization this year.
The State Teachers of the Year were honored in Washington, D.C., in April with festivities that included a visit to the White House to meet President George W. Bush. On Friday, April 27, the teachers held a press conference to outline 10 recommendations for the reauthorization of NCLB (see sidebar below). On Thursday, immediately after their White House tour, nearly a dozen of the teachers took time for exclusive interviews with Reading Today.
Nearly all the State Teachers of the Year who talked with us lauded the program’s goals. Joseph Fatheree, who teaches multimedia and film at Effingham High School in Effingham, Illinois, said that NCLB has helped put together a national agenda saying that education is important. However, he also sees some “gaping holes” in the legislation as currently implemented.
Madaline Fennell, a teacher at Franklin Elementary in Omaha, Nebraska, said she thought her school was much more focused on teaching the delivery of curriculum as a result of NCLB and that there are fewer interruptions during the school day. Furthermore, professional development for the staff has become more focused. On the other hand, she saw a loss of autonomy for teachers.
Tamara Tiong, who teaches K–2 special education at Dulce Elementary School on the Hickory Apache Reservation in New Mexico, said NCLB is valuable in that “it strives to make public schools accountable for all learners, including special education students.” But she also said the focus on reading and math has led to a narrowing of the curriculum.
Several State Teachers cited heavy testing, punitive measures against schools, along with extra pressure on both teachers and students, as negative aspects of NCLB. IRA member Alan Sitomer, a secondary teacher and young adult author from Lynnwood High School in California, said that schools overtest students as a result of NCLB, and the results are used in punitive ways. “It’s almost like public shaming is the tool to motivate us to perform better,” he said.
Fennell said the worst result of NCLB is that teachers have lost their autonomy. “We have to do everything in lockstep,” she said. Instead, she added, we should “allow the professional in the classroom to mold the program to the needs of the students.”
Implementation of NCLB has taken away some of the opportunity for creativity in the classroom, Rebich said. “When superintendents and principals see what is needed for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), then the pressure just continues to come down the pike.”
Tiong feared that the NCLB requirements were pushing everyone to fit a mold, which is especially problematic for special education students like the ones she teaches. “There is a fear of being creative,” she said. “Teachers know that some of their children need to learn in different ways, but they feel forced to do things in the same way.”
NCLB requirements and their interpretations by the states sometimes lead to some bizarre situations, such as when Tennessee State Teacher of the Year Susanne Frensley was recently deemed not to be highly qualified despite a master’s degree and more than a dozen years of teaching experience at the high school level. Last year the state revised its rules for teacher qualifications and simply dropped the “endorsement” it had previously given to her discipline (she teaches art history).
“This is what happens when policymakers and lawmakers try to mandate things without taking our knowledge into consideration,” said Sitomer. “We are not against accountability, but we are proponents of real education.” We take all students and try to get them to give their best. “One size fits all makes no sense.”
Many of the State Teachers of the Year believe the reauthorization of NCLB offers an opportunity to fix the problems they have seen with the first version. “I look at reauthorization as an opportunity for us to develop a collaborative relationship and develop a piece of legislation that will last for eons,” Fatheree said. “We want the best situation possible for our kids.”
Fennell believes that one key to a more successful program is a focus on supporting administrators, who set the tone for the entire building. Administrators are middle management in the process, she said, noting that successful schools generally have principals who are strong instructional leaders. She hopes to see this area addressed in the reauthorization process.
Many of the State Teachers of the Year see a growing receptivity toward teacher input in the reauthorization of NCLB. As this article went to press, at least one of the State Teachers had been invited to testify at reauthorization hearings. “I think the gap between those who make policy and those who implement it will close,” Izzo said.
In the end, it is—or at least it should be—about the students and what’s best for them. And, as Alaska State Teacher of the Year Ina Bouker pointed out, that goes beyond the types of things that show up on a simple standardized test score. “We must not forget that in order for children to become well-rounded, we need to teach them to respect themselves, their friends, their elders, and their environment,” Bouker said. “The biggest thing besides teaching reading, writing, and math is teaching children how to be good human beings.”
Sidebar...
At a press conference held April 27 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, a group of this year’s State Teachers of the Year discussed ways No Child Left Behind should be changed to better meet the present needs of the students, parents, teachers, and schools that make up our educational system.
Fifty of the 56 State Teachers of the Year have signed onto a statement offering 10 specific changes to make NCLB more effective.
1. Fully fund all education and assessment programs that are federally mandated.
2. Allow all states to utilize a growth model for measuring individual student achievement over time.
3. Use multiple methods of assessment to evaluate student learning accurately and report the results to the public.
4. Include language that appropriately addresses the unique needs of students with exceptionalities (disabilities as well as gifts and talents) while continuing to set high standards for all students.
5. Provide assessment information to teachers in a timely manner and professional development in how to use such information, so that it can inform instruction that will improve teaching and learning.
6. Evaluate current sanctions for failing Adequate Yearly Progress and replace them with proven methods of enhancing achievement.
7. Develop and fund programs that promote meaningful parent and family engagement.
8. Modify assessments and set realistic goals for English language learners.
9. Ensure every student is taught by a highly effective teacher who receives ongoing professional development.
10. Include programs for school leadership development that address the need for administrators to become instructional leaders who conduct regular classroom observations and provide productive feedback to teachers.
The good, the bad, and the sometimes silly. (June 2007). Reading Today, 24(6), 1.
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