Political Quotes

“The students, educators, parents, and school board members I have spoken with over the years have been waiting for this day, and I am glad we are finally reaching agreement on a new education law, and we are going to leave behind No Child Left Behind. It was a well-intentioned law. Its goal was to create more equitable education for children across the country, but it resulted in too much emphasis on one-size-fits-all mandates and interventions, and the adequate yearly progress requirements caused too much focus on high- stakes testing. Change is long overdue. The Every Student Succeeds Act returns flexibility to States and school districts to design interventions that address the specific needs of their schools. Importantly, it has States use multiple measures of academic progress in their accountability systems so no schools will be punished for the performance of students on a single exam. They can focus on addressing resource inequalities and improving school climate and delivering access to advanced coursework and rich curricula. After hearing frequent concerns from students and teachers about the need for fewer, better assessments, I am pleased that the Every Student Succeeds Act includes a bipartisan provision I authored with Congressman Ryan Costello to help school districts eliminate unnecessary testing. The bill also improves STEM learning by encouraging the incorporation of art, music, and design.…”