Statement

Statement by NEA President Reg Weaver on today's national poll by PEN and Education Week

Voters Show More Concern about "No Child Left Behind" Law, Believe Federal Funding for Education Falls Short

“Today’s nonpartisan poll by the Public Education Network and Education Week reinforces what NEA and its 2.7 million members have been saying for more than a year—the so-called ‘No Child Left Behind’ law desperately needs to be fixed and funded to make accountability work.

“The number of voters who oppose the law has more than tripled in one year. Three-fifths of voters say the level of funding from the federal government for public schools is not adequate to ensure quality.  And they believe resources must go to methods that really work to improve student achievement such as smaller class sizes, early childhood education, and incentives to attract and retain teachers.

“As the findings of this poll and others suggest, the more the public learns about how No Child Left Behind affects them on the local level, the less they believe it can work as currently crafted.  This should come as no surprise to the growing chorus of teachers, parents, principals and state and local policymakers who have been raising serious, legitimate concerns about the law’s one-size-fits-all approach to educating children and its lack of adequate resources.

“The Department of Education has responded to this pressure by tweaking No Child Left Behind, but it has left many of its fundamental problems unresolved.  The law still forces schools to spend more money on paperwork and bureaucracy at a time when they are having to cut funding for practices that improve student achievement.  It relies on just two tests to judge students and schools, and it makes judgments by comparing the students in a classroom one year with a different set of students in the classroom the previous year.

“Moreover, thousands of schools have already been unfairly labeled ‘low performing,’ and teachers are under pressure to devote an increasing amount of valuable classroom time solely to preparing students for standardized tests.

“We hope that the Bush administration and Congress will listen to the common sense recommendations made by NEA and many others that are needed to make this law work and give every child the tools and individualized attention that they need to be successful.  We will continue to work with the Department of Education, federal, state, and local policymakers, as well as parents and the general public, to help make public schools great for every child.”

April 1, 2004

For more information:
NEA Public Relations, 202 822-7200

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.