"No Child Left Behind" left behind in presidential race | Teachers College Columbia University

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"No Child Left Behind" left behind in presidential race

Michael A. Rebell: "Both candidates have been walking very gingerly around the No Child Left Behind landmines and don't want to take a strong stand"

For the next president, one of the first domestic challenges will be to reshape the No Child Left Behind law, hailed six years ago as a bipartisan solution to America’s education troubles. But in their race for the White House, Senetors John McCain and Barack Obama are distancing themselves from what has become a tainted brand.

neither candidate has offered detailed plans for No Child Left Behind. Michael A. Rebell, a professor at Teachers College at Columbia University, said the candidates are tiptoeing around the law because the debate has changed. In 2000, it was about values and promising to ensure all kids learn. Now it’s about the nitty-gritty — whether to delay the law’s 2014 target for universal proficiency; whether to use other yardsticks besides state tests to rate schools; and whether to ease sanctions on lagging schools.
"Both candidates have been walking very gingerly around the NCLB landmines and don’t want to take a strong stand" Rebell said. “It alienates a lot of constituencies no matter what they do.”
 
The article, "”No Child Left Behind’ left behind in presidential race" appeared in the September 15, 2008 edition of the The Washington Post:http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/09/15/Education_issues.html

 

 

Published Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2008

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