Robert Dornan: “I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 6, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This…”

“I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 6, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This legislation will dramatically increase Federal control over education and stifle any attempts by local communities to achieve real education reform. As recent international comparisons illustrate, Americans are falling far behind the rest of the world in education. In a 1982 report published in Public Interest on how American students compared with those in other nations, The results for the U.S. were these: Out of nineteen tests, we were never ranked first or second; we came in dead last three times, and, if comparisons are limited to other developed nations only, the U.S. ranked at the bottom seven times. And things are getting worse. Indeed, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement found that 'there is evidence of a sizable drop in level of achievement (in the United States).' With this in mind, there is no disagreement that America's schools are in desperate need of reform. Real reform, however, will not be possible with the passage of H.R. 6.”