Russ Feingold: “this month public school students around Wisconsin are sharpening their No. 2 pencils and settling in to take a series…”

“this month public school students around Wisconsin are sharpening their No. 2 pencils and settling in to take a series of annual tests called the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations. These exams, given to students in grades four, eight, and ten, test students' knowledge of reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. These tests--and their results--have taken on new meaning for schools around my State as students and teachers in Wisconsin settle into their second school year under the No Child Left Behind Act. This law, the centerpiece of the President's domestic agenda, requires that students in grades three through eight and in one high school grade be tested annually in reading and math beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, with annual science tests to be added 2 years later. Thus, Wisconsin will be required to expand the WKCEs, and the already-existing annual third grade Wisconsin Reading Comprehension Test, to include new reading tests for students in grades five, six and seven; and new math tests for students in grades three, five, six, and seven. As I travel around Wisconsin, I hear time and again from frustrated parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members about their concerns with the ongoing implementation of the NCLB.”