Political Quotes

“we begin debate today on a bill to fix the problems with No Child Left Behind, the Federal law that has been causing confusion and anxiety in 100,000 public schools in our country. This week, Newsweek magazine called this the ``law that everyone wants to fix.'' There is a broad consensus about that, and, remarkably, there is a broad consensus about how to fix it. This is the consensus: that we should continue the law's important measurements of students' academic progress but restore to States, school districts, classroom teachers, and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about the results of those tests. In my view, this change should produce fewer tests and more appropriate ways to measure student achievement. We believe this is the most effective path toward higher standards, better teaching, and real accountability. Our Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee--the Senate's education committee--obviously believes that too. The committee reported the bill unanimously. Senator McConnell, the majority leader, noted earlier that committee has on it some of the Senate's most liberal Democrats and several of the Senate's most conservative Republicans. It was a surprise to many people that the committee reported it unanimously.…”