Spellings Highlights Expansion of NCLB and High School Reform

Margaret Spellings, U.S. secretary of education, opened the NASSP Convention by praising the results of the No Child Left Behind Act to date and urging principals to stay the course.

There are some "bright lines" to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), said Margaret Spellings, U.S. secretary of education, "but there's a lot more flexibility in the law than I think people are aware of." Spellings opened the 2005 NASSP Convention by calling for the nation's secondary school principals to strongly support NCLB and the Bush administration's new $2 billion high school reform initiative.

"We already can see that NCLB is working. Test scores are rising, and the achievement gap is closing," Spellings said. According to the secretary, the passage of NCLB was only a starting point. "We still have much work to do. The first round of NCLB reforms focused on grades 3-8; now we must extend these sound principles to our high schools."

The secretary highlighted components of the reform plan, including:

• $1.24 billion for a High School Initiative that would allow schools to develop intervention programs for at-risk students



• A $175 million increase for the Striving Readers program (currently funded at $25 million)



• A $90.4 million increase to the Mathematics and Science Partnerships initiative "to strengthen the quality of middle and high school math" (the new funds combined with current funds would provide $120 million in competitive grants)



• A $21.7 million increase to increase the rigor of the high school curriculum through the expansion of the AP and International Baccalaureate programs



• $33 million in additional Pell grant funding for grants to students in the State Scholars program.

Although the focus on high school improvement is long overdue, funding for the initiative would be provided by eliminating the $1.3 billion Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. "We consolidated the funding for these programs into the High School Initiative," she said. "We want you to pursue the course of action that makes the most sense for your students — whether that be vocational education or dropout prevention or college preparation."

In closing, Spellings had separate messages for middle level and high school leaders: "To middle school principals, I pledge that we will stay the course on NCLB and will work to realize its full potential in a sensible and workable way." Spellings went on to reassure high school leaders that although "high schools have been the stepchild of school reform efforts in this country, this must change."

"The Long Haul"
Prior to her keynote address, Spellings engaged in a question-and-answer exchange with a small group that consisted of the NASSP Board of Directors, selected state leaders, and NASSP staff members.

"The law is here for the long haul," Spellings said. "Annual assessment is not negotiable. Disaggregation is not negotiable." Yet the secretary actively solicited feedback from the audience on the issues surrounding the law's implementation and explained her strategy for examining issues from various perspectives to resolve them.

On the matter of assessment of students in special education, for example, the secretary has convened an exploratory group composed of brain-research experts, psychometricians, and practitioners to recommend how best to implement such assessment. Spelling hopes to repeat this strategy for other topics and invited NASSP and its members to take an active role.

The secretary reframed principals' concerns over sanctions for not making adequate yearly progress (AYP). "The media loves to talk about 'failing' schools, and it's terminology you'll never hear me use," Spellings said. "But access to school choice and supplemental services should not be considered 'sanctions.' Parents will assess the quality of education at their kids' schools regardless of the rating, and they should have options available to them."

The intense focus on reading and math has reduced students' access to music and the arts, some members of the 60-person audience lamented. "So maybe we need a fuller, richer measurement system that enriches the curriculum," Spellings offered, drawing on the adage, "What gets measured, gets done."

Principals expressed concern over the challenges of getting a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom, especially in rural and middle level schools — and Spellings took that as an opportunity to tout President Bush's $40 million proposal for an Adjunct Teacher Program. "We need structures where we can get a local professional to come in and teach chemistry twice a week," Spellings offered as an example. "For the long haul, I'd like to see if there are ways that we can tap resources in the community."

The secretary acknowledged the difficulty that exists in attracting principal candidates and pledged her support in addressing the challenge. "I'd go so far as to say that a great principal is the most important thing to school success," Spellings said. "I'd love to partner with your association to do some things to support principals around the country."