Presidential hopefuls on "No Child Left Behind"

Hillary was campaigning in Iowa last weekend, where she noticed that virtually every child has been left behind.

Although she voted for President Bush's No Child Left Behind education policy in 2001, that support didn't last long. She has been arguing for some time that NCLB's fixation on testing, testing, and more testing is pulling away time and resources from the task of teaching and learning. Learning for the whole child, for a lifetime - not just for a standardized test. Hillary says she would reform NCLB, bring back the arts and music to public schools, and scale back the testing mania. It's really hard to disagree - especially for those of us who have had the insights provided by knowing (or being) public school educators or administrators.

Here's how other presidential front-runners for '08 weigh in on education policy:

Giulini: Rudy says he strongly supports school choice, viewing it as "one of the great civil rights issues of our time." As mayor of New York City, Giuliani's education track record included creating a Charter School Fund, getting rid of tenure privilege for principals, increased school funding and hired new teachers, and trashed the policy of social promotion. (joinrudy2008.com)

Edwards: Like Hillary, he voted for the No Child Left Behind Act but is now a critic. Before an Iowa audience last August, he said asked, "How long is it going to take us to figure out you can't educate kids by testing them to death? Part of that is you can't have Washington telling local schools what they're supposed to do, and mandating it and then never giving them the money." Beyond NCLB, Edwards says he advocates more investment in early childhood education, better training for teachers, and incentives to attract teachers to underserved areas. Edwards says he also views children's healthcare and nutrition as intricately connected to educational performance. (johnedwards.com)

McCain: If education is a priority for McCain, he's keeping it a secret. His campaign doesn't even list education among the top issues forming his platform. Only when McCain was directly questioned by an NEA member about No Child Left Behind during a New Hampshire town hall meeting last week did we get this glimpse: He responded that the law should be amended in regard to testing students with disabilites and non-English speakers, but not repealed. (www.johnmccain.com)

Obama: "Improving our schools" makes the top 10 list of policy priorities, according to his campaign office. Obama's official position on education: "We are failing too many of our children in public schools. Right now, six million middle and high school students read at levels significantly below their grade level. Unfortunately, the debate in Washington has been narrowed: either we need to pour more money into the system, or we need to reform it with more tests and standards. Senator Obama has worked on bills that cut through this false choice and recognize that good schools will require both structural reform and resources." (www.barackobama.com)

As recently as April, President Bush was still attempting an image makeover for No Child Left Behind. As the '08 campaigning builds steam, it remains to be seen whether or not education-concerned voters will shout loud enough to be heard above the chatter.