This letter to the editor by Mary Cohen, Secretary's Regional Representative in Region VII, appeared in The Wichita Eagle (Kansas) on May 7, 2007.

When I read The Eagle editorial "Fix it: No Child must change" (April 16 Opinion), I was reminded of the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."

It has been five years since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. We now have a track record to go by, and it's a good one. Our students have made strong academic progress, particularly in the early grades. Reading and math scores are at all-time highs in several categories, and achievement gaps are finally beginning to close. In Kansas, the number of fifth-graders becoming proficient in reading rose 10 percentage points in just two years (2002-04), while fourth-grader proficiency in math improved by 13 percentage points.

True, no law is perfect. We are working with Congress and the states to make constructive changes to the law. New flexibilities have been added, such as the use of "growth models" and modified assessments for students with severe cognitive disabilities. But the core principle of annual student assessments must not change. Assessments are the key to accountability. Without them, teachers will not have the data they need to see the problem and solve it. And more kids will fall through the cracks.

This debate is not new.

Kansas' initial effort to strengthen its accountability was called "Quality Performance Accreditation." When QPA was passed, there were similar warnings of loss of local control, "teaching to the test" and lack of creativity. Yet after several years, most educators couldn't imagine operating without QPA because it caused the schools and teachers to focus on what was expected of their students.

The same is true of the No Child Left Behind law.

This is not the time to turn our backs on the progress we have made. If our nation is to remain competitive, we must continually push for higher standards and accountability. Our competitors across the globe certainly are not looking for ways to "opt out" of their education systems. And neither should we.

Mary Cohen
Secretary's Regional Representative
Region VII
U.S. Department of Education