As things unfold on the reauthorization of NCLB, we intend to post information about the reauthorization here.Here is an EdWeek article discussing the Democrats education agenda.http://edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/11/08/12federal_web.h26.htmlHere is a link to a CCSSO October 16th press release on reauthorization.http://www.ccsso.org/Whats_New/Press_Releases/9029.cfmThe Aspen Institute is home to a national commission on No Child Left Behind. The following is copied from its Mission statement. "The Commission on No Child Left Behind (The Commission) will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLsmiley and will make bipartisan recommendations to Congress, Administration, State and local stakeholders, parents and the general public to ensure that the law is an effective tool in spurring academic achievement and closing the achievement gap.As part of this effort, the Commission will examine the impact of NCLB on Federal, State, and local efforts toward improving academic achievement for all students, reducing the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their non-disadvantaged peers, improving instruction in core academic subjects, and recruiting and retaining a highly qualified teaching force. "To learn more about this commission click on http://tinyurl.com/bnwot.A November 30th conference sponsored by The American Enterprise Institute looked at the task of fixing failing schools and whether the NCLB toolkit was working. The following URL offers information about this conference and links to the papers presented. You can also view video clips of the presentations.http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.1351,filter.all/event_detail.aspThe Washington Post had an article on January 4, 2007 with Secretary Spelling's views on the NCLB reauthorization. You can access the article from http://tinyurl.com/y3bqcv.The article also refers to a series of recommendations proposed by the Forum on Educational Accountability.http://www.edaccountability.org/about/statement.phpHere is a press release from the Business Roundtable offering their perspective on the NCLB reauthorization.http://tinyurl.com/2j2jas to view it.On January 24th, 2007, the U.S. Department of Education announced a press release titled "Secretary Spellings Launches Priorities for NCLB Reauthorization."http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/01/01242007.html

The Commission on No Child Left Behind sponsored by the Aspen Institute released its final recommendations today. You can access a MSNBC news story on the report at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17130755/.To view a brief press relase from the Aspen Institute and to access a page to purchase the report click on http://tinyurl.com/353fgu.To view Secretary Spellings' remarks in response to the Aspen Institute report click on http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/02/02132007.htmlFor additional news stories click on:NY Times http://tinyurl.com/29c557Washington Post http://tinyurl.com/2f3qsu

On April 5th the National Governor's Association along with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) offered a set of recommendations to Congress on the NCLB authorization. As noted in their press release the groups offered recommendations in 11 areas, including giving states and schools the flexibility to use "growth models" to gain credit for increasing student achievement; creating rewards and differentiating consequences; supporting meaningful, long-term school reform; and ensuring fair testing of special populations. The press release offers a link to the recommendations report. To access the NGA press release click on http://tinyurl.com/2k7byb.

On April 11th the Education Trust released its recommendations on the NCLB reauthorization. To view their press release and access the recommendation go to http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Press+Room/NCLB+Recommendations.htm

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2007 was introduced to the Senate on July 12th. Secretary Spellings' has posted a statement concerning the announcement.

At edweek.org you can read their blog entitled NCLB: Act II. It follows the reauthorization of the NCLB Act. The current postings refer to Senate Bill 1775, the All Children Can Achieve Act.To view the blog click here.

As I read the updates, I would contend that we take the visionary portions of each rendition of the New NCLB or the ASCA and set those pieces in front of us. We can no longer play politics with parts, accepting those pieces where we can be successful and being critical or brushing aside those where we might not look so good. Move beyond the rhetoric and status quo and do what Jim Collins proposes, "embrace a language of greatness".

The Committee on Education and Labor of the US House of Representatives has released a discussion draft of proposed changes to the NCLB Act. From the Committee's website you can read the full text or a summary of the discussion draft. You may wish to review the 11 page summary rather than the 435 page text of the draft bill. From the website you can also send comments to the Committee via email.

The September 4th issue of Education Week has several articles related to the NCLB re-authorization. To read any of them click on the topics below.Draft NCLB Bill Intensifies the DiscussionHost of Lawmakers Offer Bills to Revise NCLBHoles Found in U.S. Rules on Teachers

If you are interested in keeping track of all the positions be espoused on the NCLB reauthorization the Education Commission of the States has set up a database to do just that. Per their website they have done so; "To better inform the national debate on NCLB reauthorization, ECS collected and analyzed these recommendations and created a one-stop source that allows you to easily find out who’s saying what about revising the law."ECS looks at the issues from four different views.1. What an organization is saying about all issues.2. What all organizations are saying about each issue.3. Summary of an organization’s recommendations for all issues.4. Summary of all organizations’ recommendations for each issue.To access the database click on NCLB Database Reports.

As reported in Education Week and the Washington Post the NCLB reauthorization is bogged down in Congress. It is appearing highly unlikely that any action will be completed during the current session of Congress. Likewise, legislative action was considered unlikely during the upcoming Presidential election year. To catch up on the reauthorization process check out these news stories at Education Week or Washington Post.