Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Hillary Clinton Critical of NCLB Before State Teachers' Union

Here's the Education Week article about her speech.  Here are the areas in which the tone or content appears to be new or different:

1) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the current front-runner for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, today blasted the No Child Left Behind Act as narrowing schools’ curricula and relying too heavily on standardized tests at the expense of student creativity.

2) Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, suggested in a speech to the National School Boards Association earlier this month that the law be amended to test students less frequently, possibly three times during their K-12 careers instead of annually in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school.

3) [This is new -- she didn't say anything about this when I saw her] Sen. Clinton also criticized the law’s provisions allowing students in schools that fail to meet achievement targets to receive access to tutoring, often provided by private companies. She said that since such tutors aren’t subject to the same accountability regulations as public school educators and administrators, it’s difficult to tell whether such supplemental services are working.

And here are the areas in which they were consistent:

1) She said policymakers should focus resources instead on what she described as proven remedies, such as smaller class sizes and enhanced parent involvement. Teachers deserve greater professional respect and higher pay, particularly if they are willing to work in some of the hardest-to-staff schools, she said.

2) While Sen. Clinton gave her audience—some of whom hissed at the mere mention of No Child Left Behind—plenty to cheer about, she reasserted her support for charter schools, to the chagrin of some.

In summary, this appears to have been the take-away:
the speech appeared to have resonated with most of her audience. Several union members said that they were more inclined to vote for her after hearing her speak.

“I liked what she had to say. The testing is just taking over, and I hope she can change that,” if she becomes president, said Jane Cassidy, a special education teacher at Branch Brook Elementary School in Smithtown, N.Y. Ms. Cassidy, a Democrat, said she is leaning toward supporting Sen. Clinton in next year’s presidential primary.

“I thought she had excellent things to say,” said Thomas Stephens, a social studies teacher at Hicksville Middle School, in Hicksville, N.Y., who called the NCLB law “the worst thing that’s ever happened to public education.”

One friend's summary:
Hillary Clinton summarized: Get rid of the testing requirements for public schools because they are punitive. Stop giving free tutoring to poor kids because the providers aren’t subject to the same testing requirements as public schools. (My head hurts.)
-----------------------

Published Online: April 27, 2007

Hillary Clinton Critical of NCLB Before State Teachers’ Union

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/04/27/35hillary_web.h26.html

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the current front-runner for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, today blasted the No Child Left Behind Act as narrowing schools’ curricula and relying too heavily on standardized tests at the expense of student creativity.

 Subscribe in a reader