Education Reform: Measuring Success

Friday, March 1, 2002

Education Reform: Measuring Success by Kurt Landgraf (NAPSA)—The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act was a watershed event in the national education reform movement. The President and members of Congress pulled together to makethis happen without regard to party affiliation, recognizing the public’s demandthat educatingall our children is the nation’s top priority. However, far-reaching reform will not come easily. We must now focus on three critical factors that will determine success: a substantial commitment of resources, suf- ficient time and a great and sustained effort. Shrinking budgets are forcing tough decisions by elected officials at the state and local levels, and by everyday Americans sitting around their kitchen tables. Yet the desire for meaningful education reform persists. A survey conducted in mid-February found that Americansoverwhelmingly back requiring states to annually test students to determine if standards are being met. A majority of those surveyed also support directing a larger share of federal education moneyto schools that do not perform well on such tests to help them improve. While considerable federal funds have been made available for these new tests, significant resources will have to come from the state level as well. Even as most state legislatures struggle to split up a smaller pool of tax revenue, we must ensure that they invest in building quality assessments to support good teaching and learning. It is now time for all of us— parents, students, teachers and policymakers—to follow through on our commitment to advancing quality and equity in education. The No Child Left Behind Act calls for high standards, strong accountability and annual standards-based assessments. Federal mandates now require testing Kurt Landgraf, president of EducationTesting Service. some 22 million students every year. This is an ambitious undertaking, and it has to be doneright. But developing a fair, accurate test, even in just one subject for one grade, is a lengthy, multi-step process; we must invest the time and moneyit takes to get it right the first time. The new testing regimen will provide important information that the American people andpolicymakers can use to accomplish significant, lasting reform. But testing alone is not enough; it’s just one step in education reform. We must respond to test results— particularly poor results—intelligently, thoughtfully and responsibly in order to help teachers and students improve classroom achievement. The challenge before us is to muster the political, moral and professional will to improve public education. We must provide the resources to help teachers teach and help students learn, and we must monitor progress via welldesigned assessments. Only then will we be able to reach our goal: an education system marked by excellence in student performance, elimination of the achievement gap and, yes, tangible evidence that no child is left behind. Kurt Landgraf is president of Education Testing Service (ETS).

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