Merkley Calls for Major Education Overhaul in a Letter to Secretary Margaret Spellings

Here in Oregon, we have just made an historic reinvestment in our public education system. After years of budget cuts, increasing class sizes and shortened school years, the 2007 legislature took this issue head on. We raised funding for K-12 students by 18 percent, added 50 percent more eligible students to Head Start, doubled college scholarships and grants, and made major investments in capital construction for our institutions of higher learning. We accomplished a great deal, but without a serious commitment from the federal government, Oregon’s schools will not reach their full potential.

As I have travelled around the state over the last several months, I have spoken with parents, teachers and school administrators who are gravely concerned about the drastic effects the No Child Left Behind law is having on our schools. They are nearly unanimous in their assessment that NCLB is crippling to our public education system. Nothing short of a full-scale overhaul of NCLB will address the myriad problems with the law.

The most common complaint I hear, and I’m sure you do too, is that “teaching to the test” is no way to ensure a well rounded education. Standardized tests focus on the core subjects. While math, English and reading comprehension are critical, the value of a strong education in the arts, history and life skills cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening. Teachers and administrators, afraid of the sanctions that loom overhead if they do not meet testing benchmarks, spend all their time focused on that one goal – to the detriment of all other subjects.

It isn’t a great way to teach kids, but who can blame them? The funding formula set up by NCLB eventually strips necessary resources from schools struggling to meet the standards, and gives those resources to schools deemed to be high achievers. The funding formula doesn’t recognize the varying circumstances that each school faces. Location, socioeconomic status, language barriers – each of these factors contribute to a school’s ability to perform well on a test. And test scores should not be the only way for teachers and administrators to demonstrate their success in the classroom.

I have met with special education teachers who find it unconscionable that their students are expected to perform at the same level as students on the standard academic track. Their students require extra attention and specialized teaching methods that don’t correspond with NCLB’s one-size-fits-all framework. Expecting them to perform similarly to other students on standardized tests – and judging a school’s effectiveness by that measure – is completely unreasonable and creates undue stress on both the students and the teachers.

When I was a child, my father pointed to the front doors of the schoolhouse and told me they were not just doors to the school, they were the doors to opportunity – if I worked hard, I could pursue any dream. I took his words to heart. And my wife and I have tried to instill that same love of learning in our two kids.

Unfortunately, students across Oregon and America are being denied the same well-rounded education I received from public school. I fear that if we don’t overhaul NCLB, and soon, we will lose an entire generation of students to a faulty, overly-bureaucratic system of standards and sanctions. We can’t let that happen.

In your speech at the National Press Club last week, you said, “No Child Left Behind is not just a catchy phrase. It's a statement about who we are, and what kind of country we want to be.” I couldn’t agree more.

In the remaining year of the Bush administration, you have an opportunity to lead an overhaul of this misguided and damaging education policy. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of that opportunity to serve America’s families and future generations.

For Oregon,

Jeff Merkley

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