Education

WomenMatter will continuously post updates on all this and other issues as we monitor the continuing philosophical and practical debates nationwide. Please check back often for updates. Past updates are available for reference on the Education Archives page.

Can One Test Fit All? States’ Rights and Standardized Education

Almost everyone agrees that the public education system needs reform, but very few agree on how it should be reformed. Few want to talk about why it is so difficult to educate children from disadvantaged families and neighborhoods. How much of a difference between families can schooling really address?

The current debate skirts those questions, instead focusing on which branch of government should be in control. Underlying the debate is the issue of demanding success vs. trusting teachers to figure out what is needed.

The Bush administration decided that the federal government needed to step in and make a change. Education is usually the states’ responsibility, but in 2001 the No Child Left Behind Act was introduced by federal legislators. The bill was passed by Congress and then signed into law by Bush in January, 2002. The law requires states to standardize education and to assess those standards with extensive testing. For more on the Bush philosophy of education, click here

A lot is still left up to the states. The federal government has created the law, and now the states must carry out that law. States must create, administer, and evaluate tests, all at considerable cost.

Change costs more than pocket change

States are complaining that the federal government is not helping them enough. The National Education Association (NEA), which represents over 2 million teachers, claims that states do not have the resources to pay for the education reforms. The NEA plans to sue the federal government for this reason and is currently trying to rally states to be the plaintiffs.

We all know that making improvements costs money. Although the federal government has provided states with some funds to realize No Child Left Behind, many states claim that they just can’t pay for the program.

Who is responsible for paying for improvements to our education system? Would states be more willing to pay for progress if teachers believed in Bush’s reforms?

The NEA does not like No Child Left Behind; the organization feels that the law shifts valuable money and time away from the learning process and towards the testing process. Those who are against Bush’s education plan say that standardized tests do not accurately assess achievement.

Math mayhem

The 2003 New York math Regents exam illustrates this point. 63% of students failed this standardized test. Many claim that the test itself is the failure when “good students" cannot pass it. But 37% of students did pass. What does this mean? Who is failing? It could be the test, the teachers, or, of course, the students; but one thing is for sure, something is wrong.

The state of states

The federal government has told states to make changes and to test those changes, but has not given them specific, detailed instructions. This is because the Bush administration and the Republican Party are in favor of states rights and think that states should be in control of their own education programs.

But states are somewhat limited in their decision-making. For example, Virginia schools have historically exempted some children from Standards of Learning (SOL) exams. Virginia allows kids who have just immigrated to the U.S. to skip the first year of exams; Virginia gives them a year to adjust, since these students are faced with a new culture and new language. However, federal law does not allow this. Virginia is going to have to test all of its students next year.

Philosophy and practice

The philosophy behind states’ rights is that local government is good government; states should have the power to govern their residents because states know what their local people want and need.

The argument over state power versus federal power dates back to the Civil War Era, when Southern states wanted to protect industries based in slavery. Southern farmers didn’t wanted Northern bureaucrats telling them what to do, so Southern legislators began to push for states to have the right to make their own decisions. Those who are opposed to federal control still make this argument today.

Although the Republican Party is traditionally in favor of states’ rights, the Bush administration is also in favor of broad standardization in education in order to demand accountability. The idea of results in return for funding is a business-based model. Implementing these two ideas causes them to bump against each other within the No Child Left Behind law.

We are in the beginning stages of reform and discovering that we need clearer distinctions between federal and state responsibility for education. If we believe that states can better govern their residents, then we must believe that states know what their students need. However, if we feel that we need sweeping reforms that affect every student everywhere, then we must provide specific guidelines and money for those reforms.

State and federal must work together if we want education to improve. Learn more about education and America [click here] and then contact your representatives and let them know what you think. [click here]

Posted on: 7/9/2003

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