President Bush’s second-term agenda for improving education, which includes implementing more testing to increase accountability in high schools, is likely to face significant political and practical challenges that could potentially jeopardize the plan. The President first introduced the idea of additional testing during his 2004 campaign, and since his re-election, he has emphasized that this is a top priority for his high school agenda.
However, initial indications suggest that the President may struggle to gain the broad, bipartisan support he received early in his first term with the No Child Left Behind Act. Some prominent Democrats are skeptical of the President’s plans, expressing frustration with the insufficient funding for education that they believe cannot meet the current requirements of federal law. Representative George Miller, the leading Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, stated last month that "Adding new mandates while schools lack the resources to meet the current demands will not help schools."
The resistance to the President’s agenda may not be limited to one political party. Some conservative Republicans who were not enthusiastic about the No Child Left Behind Act in the first place may be hesitant to support additional federal mandates. Even key Republican leaders in Congress on education have not enthusiastically embraced the idea. There are also other potential obstacles apart from the political ones.
One challenge is that most high schools do not receive federal aid under Title I, which is the main program for disadvantaged students under the No Child Left Behind Act. Therefore, increasing testing would not necessarily lead to the kind of accountability the President desires. Schools that do not receive Title I aid are not subject to the specific consequences for low-performing schools outlined in the law, such as allowing students to transfer to higher-performing schools or providing free tutoring.
President Bush focused on improving high schools during his re-election campaign. He frequently highlighted the No Child Left Behind Act as one of his most significant achievements in his first term and pledged to give more attention to high schools in his second term. Last month, he reiterated his plans and provided more details, proposing to allocate $1.5 billion to his new high school initiative. Out of this amount, $250 million would be reserved for helping states expand high school testing, and $1.2 billion would support states in holding high schools accountable and intervening with students who are not achieving at their grade level.
The White House hinted that funding for the high school plans may come from diverting funds from existing Department of Education programs. More information regarding the budget for fiscal year 2006 was expected to be revealed this week, with speculation that the money would be taken from the agency’s vocational education programs, which are politically popular.
“This is one of the more realistic and achievable goals among his many ambitious plans, especially when compared to Social Security reform, tax reform, deficit reduction, and establishing democracy in the Middle East," he stated confidently.
Joel Packer, a senior lobbyist at the National Education Association, which is the largest teachers union in the country and often criticizes the federal law, predicted that there will be increasing pressure for changes to No Child Left Behind, rather than expanding it to more grades.
According to the Associated Press, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, which is composed of over 100 conservative House members, expressed his desire to "reverse the expansion of federal involvement in primary and secondary education, which conservatives believe should be a responsibility of the state and local governments."
Finances could pose a significant obstacle for Mr. Bush. Last year, due to tight fiscal constraints, Congress displayed little interest in some of the president’s proposals. For instance, they rejected his plan to provide enhanced Pell Grants to economically disadvantaged students who pursue a challenging high school curriculum. They also reduced his request for the Striving Readers initiative, which aims to assist struggling middle and high school readers, from $100 million to $25 million.
In fiscal year 2006, President Bush has expressed his desire for $200 million for the Striving Readers initiative and $250 million for new high school testing, among other things. However, without a substantial increase in overall funding for the Department of Education, which is not expected in his 2006 request, it will be difficult to convince federal lawmakers to allocate $250 million for high school tests.
Nevertheless, some experts believe that the administration may have an advantage in the form of the new Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings. As a former top domestic-policy aide to the president, she is considered to have the political knowledge and positive relationships with lawmakers that could help garner support for the testing plans in Congress.
The Republican leaders of the House and Senate education committees appeared cautious when asked about the president’s new testing plans. "This proposal will stimulate a healthy debate in the United States Congress," stated Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio, the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
Sen. Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, expressed his reservations about the plan in an interview. He stated, "How do we implement it? How do we make it work?" However, he also expressed openness to the idea, suggesting that it might need to be implemented gradually and that he could support two more years of testing. He emphasized the importance of proper timing for implementation.
While education leaders welcome the attention given to high schools by Mr. Bush, some question the value of additional testing. Gerald M. Tirozzi, the executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and a former assistant secretary of education during the Clinton administration, argued that there are already sufficient statistics indicating issues with 9th and 10th graders. Instead of spending money on more testing, he believes it is necessary to address these problems by providing support and resources.
Edgar B. Hatrick, the superintendent of the Loudoun County school district in Virginia, expressed the need for the president to refine No Child Left Behind and its testing requirements before expanding demands in high school. He also emphasized the importance of providing adequate funding for the law before considering additional tests mandated by Congress.
Peter McWalters, the education commissioner of Rhode Island, supports testing for accountability, but questions the necessity of additional high school assessments. He believes that it is more beneficial to have local tests that closely monitor individual student progress and provide prompt feedback for educators to address concerns. Rhode Island is currently working on developing such tests with certain districts.
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