Duncan Recommits To Testing In NCLB Overhaul

The New York Times (1/13, Rich, Subscription Publication) reports that with the debate over the role of the Federal government in public education “increasingly polarized,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan “insisted” in a speech on Monday that the Administration “would not back away from annual testing for students and performance evaluations of teachers based in part on the results of the tests.” In a speech outlining the Administration’s priorities for altering No Child Left Behind, Duncan said that “parents, teachers and students have both the right and the absolute need to know how much progress all students are making each year towards college- and career-readiness.”

Noting that Duncan’s comments could set up “a contentious battle with Congress,” the AP (1/13, Hefling) reports that he “saidMonday that rolling back federal testing requirements in math and reading would deprive students, parents and their schools of critical information needed to measure educational progress.” The AP quotes Duncan saying, “I believe parents, and teachers and students have both the right and the absolute need to know how much progress all students are making each year towards college and career readiness,” and notes that he called for an end to students learning “too late they aren’t prepared for college.” The piece notes that Duncan acknowledged that there are some negative effects from overtesting and excessive test preparation, and reports that he “urged Congress to provide money to states to improve the quality of their tests and to have states set limits on time spent on standardized testing.”

The Washington Post (1/13, Layton) reports that Duncan urged Congress to include pre-K funding and increase funding for schools with high ratios of needy students. Noting that Duncan was speaking at Seaton Elementary, a “high-poverty school” in Washington, DC, that Post reports that Duncan “talked broadly about equal educational opportunity as a civil right — and as a moral and economic imperative for the country — and included specific ideas he wants incorporated in federal law.” The Post reports on Duncan’s insistence that a new version of NCLB must include annual testing, and quotes him saying, “I believe parents, teachers and students have both the right and the need to know how much progress all students are making each year toward college and career readiness. That means all students need to take annual statewide assessments that are aligned with their teacher’s classroom instruction.”

Roll Call (1/13, Subscription Publication) reports on Duncan’s “firm call to continue annual standardized testing,” but notes that Republicans “have indicated they are open to arguments from teachers’ unions and some parents that the current federal mandate for testing is overly burdensome and has shifted too much class time from instruction to test preparation.” The piece notes that Duncan’s position is in line with “priorities issued last week both by the Council of Chief State School Officers and by a coalition of civil rights groups including the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union and The Education Trust.”

The Wall Street Journal (1/13, Porter, Hughes, Subscription Publication) reports that with the GOP looking to reconsider the Federal role in education, Duncan argued for a central role for the Federal government, setting up a potential clash with Congressional conservatives.