Now is not the time to turn back the clock on accountability for results in education. New research shows that since the passage of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the achievement gaps have narrowed significantly in elementary and middle schools.

While NCLB is a flawed law – and we have repeatedly called on Congress to make improvements through the reauthorization process – NCLB has been crucial in exposing the extent of the opportunity and achievement gaps plaguing chronically underperforming schools and creating an atmosphere conducive for fundamental education reforms. Access to quality education is a fundamental civil right that should be guaranteed by the federal government for all children, regardless of their race, national origin, economic status, or disability, and since 2002, NCLB has been the primary federal law for ensuring that right.

Rather than rolling back the clock on NCLB, what we need is a new federal focus on high schools, with both accountability and funding to enable us to end the dropout crisis afflicting poor and minority communities.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Politics .