My commentary in Education Week on NCLB : Renewal: Remaking America's Schools for the 21st Century

My commentary in Education Week on NCLB

Harold Kwalwasser, January 11, 2012

I wanted to forward the following email from EDUCATION WEEK. The paper asked me to be one of a dozen or so education experts to comment on the tenth anniversary of No Child Left Behind. By clicking on the link, you can read what each of us has had to say about this important, if frustrating, effort at federal education policy.

Here is how my commentary begins…

There are at least two great challenges in renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the law known in its current edition as No Child Left Behind.

One is the tension between Washington’s desire to dictate what it considers “good policy” and the reality that the best school district is one that gives capable leaders wide discretion to adapt to the diverse possibilities each faces in providing quality instruction.

Enjoy the full article….

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In the News

Saying ‘Good Bye’ to Grades (School Administrator, December 2015, December, 2015)
Standardized tests don't help us evaluate teachers (Los Angeles Times, September, 2015)
The Formula for Successful School Reform: One part Legislative Humility Mixed with Three Parts Hard Work at the Grass Roots (American Constitution Society Book Talk, February, 2013)
Miami-Dade teachers’ book club a think tank on school reform (based on Renewal) (Miami Herald, December, 2012)
Florida's incendiary new race-based proficiency standards (Orlando Sentinel, November, 2012)
Choice Magazine "Highly Recommends" Renewal (, October, 2012)
Book Review: Renewal (Dynamite Lesson Plan, May, 2012)
Interview on KYW (Philadelphia) on April 17, 2012. (KYW-AM (Philadelphia, PA), April, 2012)
My Commentary in Ed Week on the 10th Anniversary of NCLB (Education Week, January, 2012)
Why great teachers aren't enough to make schools work (Washington Post, August, 2011)

Commentaries

Saying ‘Good Bye’ to Grades (December 11, 2015)
Standardized tests don’t help us evaluate teachers (September 16, 2015)
Why Teachers Colleges get a Flunking Grade (October 25, 2013)
School elections: What do we do about low voter turnout? (September 16, 2013)
Mooresville’s Recipe for Great Schools (September 16, 2013)
Kwalwasser Speaks to the American Constitution Society (February 7, 2013)
Miami-Dade Teacher Think Tank Using Renewal (December 19, 2012)
Comments on Florida’s incendiary race-based proficiency standards (November 15, 2012)
Teacher Evaluations: The Challenge to making them successful (November 1, 2012)
Great Talk at Baltimore’s Pratt Library (October 3, 2012)

Discussions

What are the components of a successful program to train administrators and others to conduct newly-mandated requirements to evaluate teachers?
Status: Closed