Coleman Introduces ‘All Students Can Achieve’ Act

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman is co-sponsoring a bill designed to augment No Child Left Behind, President Bush’s flagship education program due for reauthorization this year.

In a statement with his co-sponsors on Wednesday, Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Coleman said the new bill “focuses on improving teacher effectiveness and raising education standards for America’s students.” The bill is dubbed the “All Students Can Achieve Act of 2007,” or ASCA. 

The Minnesota Republican said states would be granted the flexibility to opt out of key provisions in No Child Left Behind (NCLB). For example, states would no longer worry about the “highly qualified teacher requirement,” which mandated that all teachers have licenses and other subject-specific qualifications.

Said Coleman: “Our legislation provides the flexibility educators have been asking for, without sacrificing high quality education for our children. Moreover, it builds upon [NCLB's] successes while also addressing its weaknesses, by promoting flexibility while maintaining accountability, high standards, effectiveness, and access to quality resources.”

One way to measure effectiveness, Coleman said, is to assess teachers’ quality by measuring students’ performance.

In the Twin Cities, the reaction by the education community was cautious. Tom Dooher, president of Education Minnesota, the state’s largest teacher union, said he’s pleased to see senators trying to fix the NCLB.

But he expressed concerns with the new bill. “The proposal to exempt states from the current highly qualified requirements needs to be scrutinized.  Licensure, certification and robust professional development for our teachers are essential to improving overall achievement,” he said.

Coleman, who is up for re-election in 2008, said his proposal replaces teacher qualification with teacher effectiveness. Unlike the NCLB, the new bill would allow states to measure students’ academic growth by creating a comprehensive tracking system.

ASCA also identified two key objectives that would be rewarded with “incentive grants.” One is to set high expectations for students by creating a direct path to college while attending grades K-12. The second is to close the achievement gap through increased academic and strategic resources for underperforming schools and correct the loopholes in NCLB.

Charles Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, welcomes those two objectives.  But he said “tying student achievement to teachers…is a difficult thing to do.”

Though the “devil is the details,” the proposed act seems to capture the real spirit that was intended for NCLB, said Bernadeia Johnson, chief academic officer for Minneapolis Public Schools.

“It’s holding people accountable,” she said. “And that’s a good move.”

When the law, the intent and the practice meet, she said, you will get results from students.

More than 50 senators have expressed a desire to introduce some kind of education reform this year since support for NCLB has faded. Kyte and others said the competition is likely to produce a package acceptable to most everyone.
 

Related: A Primer on No Child Left Behind