Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

6th District candidates give failing grade to No Child Left Behind act

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 4, 2008 at 11:01 p.m.

Text size  
Steve Ward

Steve Ward

Ted Harvey

Ted Harvey

Mike Coffman

Mike Coffman

Wil Armstrong

Wil Armstrong

More Elections

More stories »

Republican candidates in Colorado's 6th Congressional District say the federal No Child Left Behind Act should be left behind.

None of the four hopefuls in the Aug. 12 primary would vote to reauthorize the law that requires states to set academic standards and test students to see if they are meeting them.

"There's no place in the Constitution where it says the federal government should be involved in the education of children," said state Sen. Ted Harvey, R- Highlands Ranch.

"I really think that I don't trust the federal government in this role," Secretary of State Mike Coffman agreed.

"I'd like to see No Child Left Behind ultimately repealed," businessman Wil Armstrong said.

"The federal government, which can't balance its own budget, has no business teaching high school students math," said state Sen. Steve Ward, R-Littleton.

The four are running to succeed U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, of Littleton, in the district that includes Douglas and Elbert counties, plus parts of Arapahoe, Jefferson and Park counties.

Congress has put off addressing the reauthorization of the act until after the elections.

What is No Child?

Far-reaching program has generated debate

* Also known by its initials NCLB, the federal act was signed into law by President Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, and is the main federal legislation affecting pre-collegiate education.

* It greatly expanded the federal government's role in K-12 education by requiring annual testing, setting goals for academic progress and mandating that teachers meet a federal definition of "highly qualified," among other goals.

* Supporters say it holds schools more accountable, particularly for making progress with historically underserved groups such as low-income students. Opponents, including many educators, say NCLB imposed stiff mandates without the additional funding necessary to carry them out.

The candidates discuss education

Wil Armstrong

I like the idea of standards, but I don't think that they ought to be federal standards. I think they ought to be tied to local communities.

To me, it's going to take some new thinking (to improve schools), but it shouldn't be new thinking coming from Washington. It should be new thinking coming from local communities to help improve education for all our kids.

I just think that big mandates from Washington in general on any issue - but particularly on things like education - we don't need more of that.

I've just felt for a long time that kids are educated best via local communities. . . . I have a lot of faith in teachers in the classroom. I don't have a lot of faith in bureaucrats.

Mike Coffman

I think we ought to leave education policy to the state and local governments.

Colorado passed its own testing procedures before the federal government ever enacted No Child Left Behind. I strongly believe in testing and a core curriculum because I think it exposes any weaknesses in the system, and I think also what it does is it recognizes where the needs are.

I really think that testing has . . . helped minority children in urban schools that would otherwise be completely ignored.

I think that these programs are so bureaucratic, with so many strings attached, that in some of these programs the administrative costs of complying are equal to or greater than the value of the grant.

Ted Harvey

There is no place in the Constitution where it says the federal government should be involved in the education of children, but it does say anything not specified in this Constitution will be left up to the states, and I don't believe spending billions of dollars on an unconstitutional program should be continued.

I'd repeal the (U.S.) Department of Education. I worked for Ronald Reagan. Every year he tried (to eliminate the department).

If we weren't sending so much money to Washington, D.C., for them to siphon off and then send back pennies to the states, we would have enough money to be able to handle all of our needs . . . here in the state of Colorado.

Steve Ward

Bringing some measure of effectiveness to education is good. . . . However, one size does not fit all.

I am told there are problems with the (statewide achievement) testing. I had this conversation at the door with a teacher (while walking precincts) the other day. He said, 'Look, the colleges can measure IQ or educational achievement and capability with a three- hour test - SAT or ACT. Why do we need 13 hours of CSAP?' I am open to tweaking the CSAP test.

I do like some aspects of No Child Left Behind. I do like measures of effectiveness and some kind of benchmarks of achievement and accountability. So I am open to tweaking the testing to make it more practical.

Comments

  • August 5, 2008

    12:14 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Kara writes:

    This was just another pie -in -the- sky tactic by the good ole' Repub.'s . Failure after failure. Sad thing, we keep voting for these fools. OBAMA in 08!

  • August 5, 2008

    9:13 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Noromyxo writes:

    All of these candidates are absolutely right to insist that the Federal government get out of the education business. First of all, it's not constitutionally mandated, secondly the Feds are extremely poor at legislating the business of education. They don't know anything about the kids in the various states. Talk about a carrot and stick balancing act in the nation's school districts! Want that Federal handout? Better be testing those kids the way we tell you to and producing the kind of results we demand!

    Obama has nothing to do this argument. This is about whether the Federal government has any business legislating how the states and their respective school districts teach our kids.

    Those "fools" the Republicans, have always been right about insisting on less government intrusion in our lives, not more. Education is exactly the right place to start paring down. Our kiddos would immediately be better off for it. According to Strong American Schools data (www.strongamericanschools.org) 24 countries outscore U.S. schools in math. Isn't this evidence enough that Federally legislated education over the last 40 years isn't working? It is time to get rid of the US Department of Education.

  • August 5, 2008

    10:17 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Educare writes:

    I couldn't agree more. Absolutely, the NCLB Act should be left behind, far, far behind.

    Why?

    NCLB has left most everyone behind - our students, our schools, our teachers, and ultimately the citizens of this country, except of course, the Halliburtons of Education—the testing companies and publishing companies, which have the audacity to write the scripts for teachers to read without knowledge of the "real time" nature of the learning-teaching situation and interaction.

    When the standardistos, politicos, and business folks meddle in education something about which they have little knowledge or experience, and try to use the business model, in this case the factory model, to manage education, there is always disaster.

    Schools are not factories. As Einstein wisely said, "We standardize automobiles, not people."

    Teachers are not afraid of being held accountable. They are opposed to the nature of high stakes tests—excessive, inappropriate, and intrusive. Teachers collect "real time" data all the time. The information is right in front of them— the students themselves.

    Yvonne Siu-Runyan, Ph.D.
    Professor Emerita of Literacy Education
    Incoming VP for the National Council of Teachers of English.

  • August 5, 2008

    11:09 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:

    Response to Kara: Um ... actually, it was the leftist standard-bearer, Ted Kennedy, who was the "brains" behind NCLB. See this story where Bill Clinton places the blame on Kennedy. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalrad...

  • August 5, 2008

    5:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ecoscience writes:

    Conceptually, No Child Left Behind is exactly the attitude we should emply in education. Give everyone a fair chance, and hold government employees responsible for their performance. Hard to argue that.

    The problem lies in the execution of the program. The beaurocrats just don't perform. Many of us believe in small government because they just aren't that good at anything, except keeping themselves in business.

    If you think the government didn't do well with the No Child Left Behind program, or in their response to Hurricane Katrina, wait until they get ahold of your healthcare system!