NASSP Releases Legislative Recommendations for No Child Left Behind --

This from the National Association of Secondary School Principals at principal.org. This from the press release:

In preparation for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2007, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) -- the nation's largest school leadership organization representing middle and high school leaders -- has developed 21 specific recommendations for Congress to make NCLB a more consistent, fair, and flexible law that builds schools' capacity to address the academic needs of their students.

The recommendations and rationale are available as a PDF at http://www.principals.org/nclb

Most of these are spot on, many are a little too whimpy for my taste. Some I like:

...

• The requirement that Title I funds be reserved for transportation should be eliminated; funds needed for transportation should be in addition to--not subtracted from--a district?s Title I allocation...
• All public schools, charter schools, and nonpublic schools receiving federal funds should be required to use the same state assessment and meet the same state criteria for determining AYP.
• The graduation rate should be extended to within at least five years of entering high school.
• Students who complete high school with a state-approved exit document should be counted as graduates...
• The scores of English language learners (ELL) should not be used in the determination of AYP until these students have developed language proficiency, as evidenced by a research-based and state-approved assessment.
• AYP should not be based on the results of one test, but should be based on the results of multiple assessments and multiple opportunities to retake the test...
• States should calculate AYP for each student subgroup on the basis of state-developed growth formulas that calculate growth in individual student achievement from year to year...
• Lack of a highly qualified teacher should not be grounds for litigation.
• There should be an allowable use of funds under Title II of NCLB to create meaningful teacher mentoring programs that significantly sustain the retention and development of new teachers.
<>The number of alternative assessments that are counted toward making AYP should be expanded to accommodate schools that have high populations of students with cognitive disabilities and more accurately reflect the true school population of students with cognitive disabilities...

There are some other good ideas here as well but these are some of the ones that we all must demand of of legeislators when the time comes.
anti nclb