No Child Left Behind

No Child Left Behind: A Poorly Funded Mandate

In some situations, starting from behind can become an advantage. For every success in West Virginia, there have been numerous challenges to overcome, and I believe that has made our state stronger. That is why the concept behind the federal No Child Left Behind is nothing new to West Virginia educators and lawmakers. For many years, we have fought against economic and social factors to move forward – to keep from being left behind.

But Congress’ No Child Left Behind Act could be very problematic for West Virginia. While the goal is laudable, the stringent and costly requirements have the potential to undo much of the progress this state has achieved.

The most tangible effect will be the immediate financial cost to the state. Preliminary figures provided by the state Department of Education show that West Virginia is receiving about $71 million per year less in federal funding to implement the law than was promised. The potential cost at full implementation could be higher still. Among the costs are the loss of Title I funds, special education grant money, after-school program funding and teacher quality grants.

Part of what makes our state so wonderfully unique, but also challenging, is our regional diversity. To accommodate regional differences, the Legislature and the state Department of Education have created a flexible educational plan. In our effort to fulfill the West Virginia Constitution’s requirement that the children are provided a thorough and efficient system of free schools, West Virginia now either exceeds or is closing the gap on national measures of student performance, despite expectations based on the social and economic circumstances.

In 1988, West Virginia began using student performance as the measure of accountability. A new assessment and accountability system, developed prior to the No Child Left Behind Act, is being enacted this school year. The new system holds schools and school systems accountable for improving the performance of all students to a mastery level by the completion of high school. New curriculum standards have been established which require additional resources and time for staff development, and a thorough assessment process will uncover more deficiencies, thereby prompting the need for more resources to correct them.

But No Child Left Behind forces on states new methods of measurement which could declare improving schools failures, yet provides few additional resources to overcome the negative label. Many of the act’s options for improvement, such as replacing all the teachers, as well as the sanctions, are unaffordable or unrealistic on a large scale. There is no guarantee they will produce the desired results.

Under the act, schools are accountable for improving the performance of subgroups of students who have historically performed below the average. West Virginia’s school system already prepares detailed, individual improvement plans for each low-performing child. Unfortunately, through No Child Left Behind, schools with a small group of students that fails to perform up to standard will be identified as generally low performing, regardless of the performance of the rest of the students.

State education officials have also pointed out that any school which fails to show improvement in an area for two years in a row will be subject to sanctions, regardless of other improvements. For example, if students in an economically disadvantaged group fail to make adequate progress on a particular topic such as reading during one year, and then students with disabilities from that same school don’t reach their progress goal in the second year, the school will face sanctions, despite the fact that school may have improved the performance of the group that fell short the first year.

If not fully funded, the federal act could cause a great deal of financial strain. Already, many of our school systems are struggling to maintain curriculum as voters are rejecting excess levies. When painted into a corner financially, school systems often must cut elective academic, vocational and technical courses, library services and music classes to cover costs. Such courses are critical to a well-rounded education, but the first priority has to be students’ proficiency in the basic skills.

Just last week, Gov. Bob Wise and 24 other governors sent a letter to Congress, calling for an increase in education funding to states.

“We strongly support accountability and higher standards, but we cannot accept unfunded mandates and broken promises,” Gov. Wise said. “This is about all children deserving the best possible education. If Congress does not fully fund this act, poor children in rural and urban schools will be left behind.”

I hope Congress listens. In the meantime, the Legislature will struggle to maintain the excellence this state has achieved in its educational program despite the drastic federal changes.

I welcome and appreciate your input on these issues, or any other legislative matter. Please call me at (304)340-3106 or write to Delegate Virginia Mahan, 215-E, Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305.