Inquirer Editorial: Proposed fixes will cripple education law

Legislation that is supposed to fix what's wrong with the federal No Child Left Behind education law would instead water it down to the point that it would not do an adequate job.

Struggling students would no longer get the attention they need if Congress passes the proposed changes to the 2002 law. The bill would give the states more authority over all but 5 percent of the worst public schools in the country, which would remain under federal oversight.

Schools would still be required to close the achievement gap between white students and minorities, but the states would decide how to accomplish that.

In the biggest slap to President Obama's education reform agenda, the bill would scrap a proposed requirement that schools evaluate teachers based on student test scores, classroom observations, and other measures. Only about half of the states now link teacher performance to tests, according to a new survey.

It makes sense for the federal government to push for fair standards that would make it easier to get rid of ineffective teachers and reward those who get results.

The bipartisan bill does address the current law's imposing sanctions on schools that fail to make "adequate yearly progress" toward an unrealistic goal that all students become proficient in math and reading by 2014. From the outset, that goal has put too much pressure on teachers and students. It unfairly punishes schools that tried hard but fell short, and it was clearly a factor in test-cheating scandals.

No Child Left Behind, which was due for reauthorization four years ago, requires testing in grades three through eight, and once in high school. The bill would leave intact the testing mandate, even though it has led to too many teachers "teaching to the test." But schools would also be required to disaggregate test results by sex, race, and factors that show how disadvantaged groups perform.

The Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the NCLB overhaul last week by a 15-7 margin, so now it is before the full Senate. Maybe it can restore some of the clout of federal oversight without returning to draconian measures.

Recognizing NCLB's heavy-handedness, the Obama administration earlier this year offered waivers to states that adopt the White House's education reforms. But waivers cannot take the place of retooling the law to remove its flaws without overly diluting it. Retooling is still necessary.