Heidi Alexander: “yesterday the Senator from Montana, Mr. Tester, came on the floor and said he supported this bill because it got rid of…”

“yesterday the Senator from Montana, Mr. Tester, came on the floor and said he supported this bill because it got rid of adequate yearly progress. This is adequate yearly progress through the back door. Instead of fixing No Child Left Behind, it keeps the worst parts of it and restores those kinds of parts with new mandates. If you don't believe me, here is a letter dated yesterday from the National Educational Association on behalf of its 3 million members: After 13 years of witnessing firsthand the negative consequences [of] No Child Left Behind's one-size-fits-all approach to accountability . . . our members strongly oppose more of the same. . . . we believe the Murphy amendment would continue the narrow and punitive focus of NCLB. Our members are deeply concerned the amendment would mark an entire school for intervention if a single subgroup misses goals for two consecutive years--precisely the approach that misidentified schools under the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) provision of [No Child Left Behind]. We are reversing the trend toward a national school board, not establishing more of a school board. Governors, teachers, school board members, and superintendents agree with that. I urge a ``no'' vote. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.”