The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly known as "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB)
Identifying the appropriate process for public education assessment and accountability remains at the center of the school improvement debate. State officials continue to focus on the issue of standardized testing as the keystone of legislative assessment programs. However, using multiple-choice testing as the sole indicator of student success and educational quality forces an overly simplistic measurement on a very complex system.
Pennsylvania and the federal government have provided few resources to support districts in the development of effective education plans. Instead, districts and schools identified as "failing," according to certain rigid criteria, are isolated, criticized and punished. Legislated remedies such as privatization, state takeover, charter schools, school choice and reconstitution are divisive and destructive measures proposed to remedy years of neglect, despite the absence of research to verify their effectiveness. None of the proven strategies for meeting students' educational needs and raising the level of student achievement are provided.
A sound accountability program supports the system it assesses by providing meaningful data on the strengths and weaknesses of every element of the education system, as well as the resources needed to remedy the areas identified as in need of improvement. The data collected under a multi-faceted evaluation system would make it possible to establish and maintain a continuous improvement model that focuses resources and attention on methods and programs that will increase student learning.
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Student cast members of Guys and Dolls from Souderton Area School District's Indian Crest Junior High School perform during the Public Education Celebration held at Montgomery Mall. Community members had a chance to see first-hand the quality of education provided daily in our public schools. The event was sponsored by the Council for the Advancement of Public Schools and the Pennsylvania State Education Association, Mideastern Region.
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