Critics frequently cast the federal government's efforts to improve education in a negative light—or at best, as irrelevant to the efforts to improve schools in local communities and states. But I think that changes in federal education law now being considered by leaders in the Administration and Congress hold out the promise of improved chances for students in our classrooms. Although much of the major education legislation proposed by the Clinton Administration awaits final congressional action, both the substance of that legislation and its reception on Capitol Hill so far suggest that key leaders are serious about enhancing the federal government's role as a catalyst for systemic educational change.
Of particular interest are two pieces of legislation: The "Goals 2000: Educate America Act" and the "Improving America's Schools Act of 1993," which would reauthorize the mammoth Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Goals 2000 has been approved by the House of Representatives and will be considered by the Senate early in 1994. Hearings on ESEA are expected any time now, and Congress could reauthorize it as early as this summer.
These bills are likely to have a major impact on the continuing efforts at education reform at all levels of the system, from Capitol Hill to the state house to the local classroom. What follows are some highlights from the bills and a few words about why I think these initiatives are so important.
Goals 2000
Goals 2000 will provide the impetus for our national education reform movement; and it will, in many ways, serve to link many of the various elements of federal education programs.
Goals 2000 will help create national standards for student performance—challenging, high standards for all students that states may adopt or use as a model. The bill would also make competitive grants available to states to develop comprehensive school improvement plans tied to those standards. States would be encouraged to revamp their student assessments and teacher training opportunities to address the new standards. Within two years, 90 percent of the federal funds available through the new program would flow to local districts and schools to support their improvement efforts.
The bill also would make several changes aimed at aligning national and local education reform strategies. It formally codifies the national education goals first proposed in 1989; creates a new, nonpartisan entity to oversee the certification of state standards; and provides formal authority to the National Education Goals Panel.
This legislation will, for the first time, establish a structure for systemic education reform based on high standards for all students.
ESEA Reauthorization
The "Improving America's Schools Act of 1993" includes several key and, I think, wisely chosen themes that undergird the reauthorization. They include the importance of quality staff development; the need for flexible accountability based on results; and the importance of strong linkages among schools, parents, and community groups. The bill is designed as a coherent plan for addressing the goal of improving the teaching-learning process, and it seeks to make the resources of the federal government "user friendly" for states and accessible to local agencies.
- Schools with the highest concentration of students in poverty will be targeted. Every school with 75 percent or more of its students from disadvantaged backgrounds would be served.
- Schools serving high proportions of poor children would have greater flexibility in using federal dollars to support schoolwide reform programs.
- Student testing requirements would be less onerous than they are at present. This will permit more time to be spent on teaching and learning.
- Students in Title I schools will be held to the same challenging content and performance standards as those in other schools.
Although Chapter 1 has been effective in bringing needed resources to the education of disadvantaged students, these proposed changes promise greater gains for our children. Further, because many of our nation's students are concentrated in urban centers, where the greatest portion of Chapter 1 dollars are spent, these changes, if enacted, should go a long way in contributing to the overall improvement of education.
The federal legislative process remains fraught with uncertainty—indeed, these bills, even if passed, may well be altered somewhat. However, the new approach taken by the Clinton Administration and by Congress to create systemwide reform is a move in a positive direction. As educators, we should align ourselves with the leaders of these changes so that we can contribute to the betterment of our schools.