A Wisconsin Congressman says changes are needed to the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The program setting national teaching and testing standards is up for reauthorization this fall. Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI) says he'll be pushing for changes when that time comes. He wants to look closely at what's working for the program, as well as what aspects of it failed.
The program has drawn a great deal of criticism since its inception in 2001. Kind says a major concern is that testing used to determine federal funding is done in October, but schools don't know their results until the next year. As a result, he says it's too late for many schools to address those issues on an individual basis.
Rather, the Wisconsin Democrat says that's why schools should be allowed to use individual growth models. That would allow them to react more quickly to the needs of students. He also wants to allow testing models that provide results within days, to help identify problems.
Kind says No Child Left Behind needs to focus more on the needs of students, not just test results.