Little irritates Fred Morton more these days than mention of the No Child Left Behind Act. What proponents hail as a bold attempt to make schools work for every child, the superintendent of the Montgomery County, Va., public schools sees as a mountain of needless paperwork, mandates, and unrealistic expectations.
鈥淚 think the law is an abomination,鈥� said Mr. Morton, whose district serves 9,400 students in the southwestern part of the state. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a stretch of credibility to think most people who voted for this law read every page of it, because if they did, you wouldn鈥檛 have much of what鈥檚 in there.鈥�
The report, 鈥淩olling Up Their Sleeves: Superintendents and Principals Talk About What鈥檚 Needed to Fix Public Schools鈥� will be available starting Nov.19 from .
If Mr. Morton sounds like a crank, he鈥檚 got lots of company. A new national survey of superintendents and principals shows widespread skepticism over the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. About half of those polled expressed the view that the federal legislation was either politically motivated or aimed at undermining public schools.
That such a large proportion of the leaders of the nation鈥檚 schools and districts see the landmark education law as less than benevolent is one of the most striking findings in the report slated for release this week from Public Agenda, a nonpartisan research and public-opinion organization based in New York City.
See Also... | |
| See the accompanying charts, 鈥淥pinions About the No Child Left Behind Act.鈥� | |
But even without the federal mandates, administrators polled complained, red tape from all levels of government impedes their efforts to raise student performance.
鈥淭hese leaders, I think, clearly are saying they need the ability to allocate staff, time, and resources to those things that are essential to driving student learning,鈥� said M. Christine DeVita, the president of the New York City-based Wallace Foundation, which underwrote the study. 鈥淎nd if that means that some other things don鈥檛 get done, that should be OK.鈥�
鈥楢round the System鈥�
For the report, 鈥淩olling Up Their Sleeves: Superintendents and Principals Talk About What鈥檚 Needed to Fix Public Schools,鈥� Public Agenda polled 925 school leaders and 1,006 district chiefs this past summer. The margin of error for the two nationally representative samples is 3 percentage points.
Although most respondents cited lack of money as their greatest concern, more than 80 percent of the administrators indicated at least some agreement with the statement that meeting local, state, and federal mandates 鈥渢akes up way too much time.鈥�
Principals, in particular, lamented teacher tenure, which 30 percent of the school leaders said made it 鈥渧irtually impossible鈥� to fire ineffective teachers. Special education was another sore point, with 88 percent of the superintendents at least partially agreeing that federal rules give parents of children in special education a sense of 鈥渆ntitlement鈥� that makes them quick to threaten legal action.
Questions about the No Child Left Behind law drew some of the boldest responses. Nearly nine in 10 of the administrators polled voiced concern that the law represents an 鈥渦nfunded mandate.鈥� Among superintendents, 40 percent saw the law as 鈥渕otivated by good intentions,鈥� 31 percent called it a 鈥渄isguised attempt to attack and destroy public education,鈥� and 22 percent saw it as politically motivated. (Seven percent were unsure how to characterize the legislation.)
Mr. Morton wasn鈥檛 surprised at his colleagues鈥� views. For him, the Virginia superintendent said, the wide-ranging law has meant putting classroom aides through additional training, as well as filling out more paperwork to certify that his teachers are qualified and that his district doesn鈥檛 infringe on students鈥� right to pray.
Not everything in the law is bad, he added. He likes its focus on reading instruction and on helping groups of students traditionally vulnerable to academic failure. But he questions whether it鈥檚 possible to meet the law鈥檚 decree that all students meet high standards of achievement within 10 years鈥攅specially in a time when budgets have been shrinking.
鈥淭he task is set up in such a way that it can鈥檛 be completed,鈥� Mr. Morton said. 鈥淎nd if that鈥檚 the case, someone has to ask why.鈥�
No Passing Fad
The Public Agenda poll shows that about a third of the principals and superintendents surveyed similarly doubted that the federal law鈥檚 requirements could be met, and more than 60 percent felt it could succeed only if 鈥渕any adjustments鈥� were made. (Five percent of schools chiefs, and four percent of school leaders, thought it was workable as is.)
Leaders in the smallest districts were the most likely to see the legislation in a negative light, the study found.
While harboring suspicions about the law itself, respondents did show broader acceptance of the general movement to raise standards for student performance. Eighty-seven percent of district leaders agreed that standards, testing, and accountability were more than a passing fad; only 3 percent of superintendents thought standardized tests do more harm than good.
鈥淭he principles behind the law have taken root with all of these school leaders,鈥� said Ruth A. Wooden, Public Agenda鈥檚 president.
U.S. Department of Education officials took issue last week with claims expressed in the poll that an ulterior motive lurks behind the No Child Left Behind Act, a centerpiece of President Bush鈥檚 domestic agenda that passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a really unfortunate misperception that some individuals have about this law,鈥� said Daniel Langan, a department spokesman. 鈥淭his is a positive law that was built upon the work that鈥檚 been happening in states for years.鈥�
Judith Johnson, who helped write early drafts of the ESEA reauthorization as a senior official in the Education Department under President Clinton, understands administrators鈥� frustrations, especially now that she鈥檚 serving as the superintendent of the 3,500-student Peekskill, N.Y., schools.
鈥淵ou set the goals high; otherwise, you have no chance of ever getting near them,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut make sure people have the resources and training they need to get as close to the goal as possible.鈥�
