NEA Offers Principles to Improve NCLB

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act* established goals everyone supports: high standards and accountability for the learning of all children. But NCLB falls short of its goals for many reasons. NEA offers principles for ESEA reauthorization, and we encourage Congress to listen to educators' voices in developing legislative proposals.

NEA to the Department of Education: Don't Keep Changing the Rules
On October 28, the Department of Education issued new regulations changing the rules under which schools are now struggling to comply with the No Child Left Behind law, even though the law will probably be overhauled next year. NEA had asked the department to hold off and let the new President and Congress change the law first, so schools don't have to change course twice in two years. Read NEA's comments .

Get the Facts
Read what's behind NEA's proposals for changing NCLB so it helps educators close achievement gaps--instead of punishing them for trying. See fact sheets on why we need smaller classes and multiple measures of achievement, and why we oppose pay-for-test-scores.

2008-09 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Results: Many More Schools Fail In Most States
In virtually every state that has released AYP results this school year (results based on 2007-08 tests that determine status for schools for the 2008-09 school year), the number of schools failing to make AYP has increased, dramatically so in many cases. In several states, the rate at which schools are failing AYP doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled.

NEA's NCLB Expert Answers Your Questions: Podcast
In his new podcast, Joel Packer Has All the Answers, NEA's top lobbyist on NCLB dives into his mailbag to answer questions about the law's impact, insanity, involvement—and to offer ideas for improvement.

NEA's "Positive Agenda" for NCLB

* NCLB is the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It is the federal law that funds basic public school programs such as Title 1.