NCLB Reform Site

By Meg McCaffrey -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2004

The dubious impact of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on schools nationwide is detailed on a new Web site dedicated to reforming the controversial law. NCLBGrassroots.org (www.nclbgrassroots.org) assembles a wide range of news articles on the national education plan, all searchable by state or topic, such as curriculum ramifications or test results. Culled from major newspapers, local weeklies, and cable news Web sites, the articles describe the challenges the well-intentioned law has imposed on districts nationwide, from the inner cities to affluent suburbs. The Civil Society Institute (CSI), a public policy group based in Newton, MA, created the site

The need for the site was great, according to Elise Rosenbaum, CSI's senior project manager. She says no other resource had demonstrated NCLB's impact on the learning environment.

The organization has many concerns about NCLB, chief among them is that it doesn't lend itself to learning, she says. Rosenbaum adds that the law's emphasis on meeting standards requires teachers to spend too much time on testing, to the detriment of classroom learning.

Ultimately, CSI hopes the site serves as a conduit for change. For example, there's a link to a petition sponsored by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing that calls on Congress to reform NCLB.

Meanwhile, educators are encouraged to click on "Letters to the Prez" to share their perspectives. CSI plans to submit those letters to President Bush. Rosenbaum says the law's negative effect on classroom learning is of utmost concern. "NCLB is an example of overstepping by the government," she says. "Teachers know best."