On the recordDecember 2, 2015
I recognize Chairman Kline especially for the work he has done over a long period of time, 7 years or so, bringing this House, this Congress, to where we are today. It truly is leadership at its best. Mr. Speaker, let's face it. No Child Left Behind's high-stakes testing, which requires every child to be caught up to grade level within 1 year, is simply unworkable, as well-intentioned as it may have been. Currently, the Secretary of Education, through waivers, can run schools by executive fiat, imposing requirements on State testing standards and conditioning receipt of Federal funds on adopting Common Core standards. {time} 1445 It's time for a positive change, and that change is the Every Student Succeeds Act. This bill, as pointed out here, as The Wall Street Journal puts it, is the largest transfer of Federal control, Mr. Speaker, to the States in 25 years, where this authority and opportunity frankly belongs. This bill empowers States, and it ends the federally mandated high- stakes testing, which is the core, which is the heart of No Child Left Behind, which is causing all the stress that we see from our teachers, our school administrators, our parents, and especially our students. If it produced the results that we intended, maybe that is one thing. But all it is producing is stress and an unworkable situation.…
