With all of the attention on education from national authorities and with all of the billions of dollars spent, what results are we getting?
We know that during the life of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) expectations have gone up. However, high expectations have become synonymous with high-stakes testing. More attention is being given to reading, writing and arithmetic. Other essentials for life have disappeared.
Hands-on activities once took place in small school shop classes and kept many students, especially boys, from dropping out. A boy thought to be a non-reader began to read the repair manual to fix his snowmachine in the school shop. Boys became expert with a framing square without realizing they were dealing with higher mathematics. NCLB has narrowed the focus so much that there isn't much to keep some students in school.
George W. Bush found some Democrats who supported him in creating NCLB. In the crack of a whip, the U.S. Department of Education mandated high-stakes tests and "highly qualified" teachers. NCLB required Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and punishments for schools not making the grade.
It is interesting that Republicans who passionately resist nationalizing the health care system welcome the nationalization of local education with NCLB.
Long before NCLB became law, President Reagan had campaigned to do away with the Federal Department of Education. His campaign rhetoric reflected the historical assumption that education is not a federal matter and best left to local control.
The Republican Convention in 2000 came close to passing a plank that called for disbanding the Department of Education. This effort was defeated by a faction lead by George W. Bush. NCLB was written with help from the great nationalizer of all things, Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.
There is now an effort to develop national curriculum standards for schools across the country. This is occurring after states, including Alaska, have spent millions to comply with NCLB requirements to develop standards and test. Alaska, with Gov. Palin's leadership, refused along with Missouri, Texas and South Carolina to jump into this effort to further nationalize education.
The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education has concluded that 38 percent of our ninth-graders will not have a high school diploma 10 years from now. Alaska ranked 50th among all states in the likelihood that those ninth graders would end up with a bachelor's degree. More national involvement can only make it worse.
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said the following about NCLB in an interview for a series on the future of the American education system: "I hate No Child Left Behind Act. You have no idea. We must teach relevant education." He went on to say, "If I could wave my magic wand, I'd get rid of NCLB."
NCLB requires teachers to have a major or minor in the subjects they teach. There will never be two teachers who between them have a major or minor in the 10 or so areas of study in a small high school curriculum. Again there is constriction of the curriculum. Geography, art, shop, etc. simply will not be offered.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski twice introduced legislation aimed at amending the NCLB to allow flexibility for teachers who teach multiple subjects.
We know from experience that outstanding teaching connected to things that matter can make learning more interesting and motivating. Each student is a special package of talents, interests, abilities and culture. Each has a unique learning style.
Boards of Education, school administrators, teachers and parents must take charge. The state Legislature, governor's office and the State Department of Education should resist federal intrusion into local education. We need to hit the reset button.
With Alaska genius, we can set an example for the country. Unless we do that, we're destined to get marching orders on No Child Left Behind letterhead for a long time to come. At this point, it seems like we've gone from local control to out of control.
Darroll Hargraves is a retired school superintendent living near Wasilla. His e-mail is countryridge@gci.net.
By DARROLL HARGRAVES