Obama's push for No Child Left Behind

President Obama will speak at a Virginia school on Monday
about changes he'd like to see in No Child Left Behind.

Washington (CNN) -- By the time students return to school next fall, President Obama wants Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, more commonly known as No Child Left Behind.
In a speech at a Virginia middle school Monday, the president is expected to praise the effort members of Congress have already made, but will call on them to finish their work before August.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued a dire prediction Sunday afternoon during a conference call with reporters. If No Child Left Behind isn't reformed, four out of five schools won't meet the law's standards, he said.
"Under the current law, it's one-size-fits-all," Duncan said. "We need to fix this law now so we can close the achievement gap."
The administration has been meeting with leaders in both houses of Congress to hash out changes before any reauthorization vote.
"There is more agreement than disagreement," the White House has said, but the administration believes the current law is too punitive and has led to a too-narrow curriculum and a "dumbing down of standards."
A pair of House Republicans agree.
"Although we have our different approaches, everyone agrees the current law is broken and in need of repair. The status quo is failing both students and taxpayers," Reps. John Kline, R-Minnesota, and Duncan Hunter, R-California, said in a joint statement last week.
"No one disagrees on the importance of education," Duncan said Sunday. "For the most part, we've been largely aligned with leaders on both sides of the aisle, but we need to come together and do the right thing for our children."
The president will lay out his plan Monday morning at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Virginia. The arts and communications magnet school has incorporated technology in many areas of its curriculum.
Obama plans to say students can use technology to "out-innovate and "out-educate" their global competition. He will also address standardized testing, merit pay for teachers and rewards for achievement.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was originally passed in 1965 and requires periodic reauthorization. The current version of the law, which was passed on a bipartisan basis in 2002, requires states to set higher standards and to have greater accountability through standardized testing.

Source: CNN

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