U.S.
Senator Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release January 22, 2007 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm.
Director |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – This year, the landmark No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education bill expires and is up for reauthorization. An estimated 750,000 schoolchildren in Colorado are affected each year by this law, which directs federal funding to primary and secondary schools. United States Senator Ken Salazar wrote to Senator Edward Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, regarding this upcoming reauthorization. In his letter to Chairman Kennedy, Senator Salazar provided results from his statewide survey of more than 2,000 educators, school principals and administrators, parents, education experts and others regarding their experiences and perspectives on NCLB. “The benefits of No Child Left Behind should not be judged by the Department of Education alone,” said Senator Salazar. “The people who best understand the effects of No Child Left Behind are the people who interact with our students every day: teachers, administrators, parents of schoolchildren and others.” Since the law’s enactment in 2002, No Child Left Behind has been under-funded by the Bush Administration and Republican Congress by more than $52 billion. This prompted one teacher from Colorado Springs to respond in Senator Salazar’s survey, “If we are required by law to meet the demands of NCLB ... there should be adequate funding provided.” Many questions have been raised about NCLB’s focus on standardized testing to the exclusion of other forms of student evaluation and the difficulty schools face in trying to meet the complicated array of goals. Among the findings of Senator Salazar’s survey:
Another teacher, from Fort Collins, responded of these unrealistic goals, “It is incredibly difficult to hit a moving target. One year, we fall short in special education at one school, so we work hard to meet that goal. The next year, we reach that mark, but fall short somewhere else. It is a losing battle to reach every goal every year and to have one low area, which regularly changes, bring us down.” In his letter to Senator Kennedy, Senator Salazar wrote of the survey participants and their feedback, “Their collective wisdom and advice is useful when evaluating the past performance and future of NCLB.” The results of Senator Salazar’s statewide survey can be viewed by clicking here. A copy of Senator Salazar’s letter to Senator Kennedy can be viewed by clicking here. # # #
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