Statement from Washington State Superintendent Terry Bergeson

For the past seven years, educators in the state of Washington have put their heart and souls into implementing

both the letter and the spirit of the federal “No Child Left Behind” law and its “adequate yearly progress”

requirements. We share a common goal with the President, members of Congress and the other national

leaders who were instrumental in passing this law in 2001: a desire to make sure all students, regardless of their

background, receive an excellent education in our public schools.

As State Superintendent of Public Instruction, I believe strongly in this goal, and appreciate the positive impact

NCLB has had on raising the level of awareness about the need to better serve the diverse range of our public

school students.

But the law has gone too far. The help it was supposed to deliver to the disenfranchised students in this system

has ended up hurting them more. And it’s created an accountability design problem. The pathway that’s been set

for us is flawed. The route is filled with unnecessary thorns that could be cleared with specific, common sense

changes that would bring balance back to the law and help us achieve the end goal of reaching out to students

who are struggling.

This year, the impact of NCLB will be more negative than ever before in Washington. We are one of many

states that must require students to achieve significantly higher targets in reading and math across all grade

levels. Our elementary, middle and high school targets went up by an average of 14 percent in reading and 19

percent in math.

In addition, more students enrolled in special education programs and those learning English as a second

language will be reflected in this year’s AYP results. NCLB now requires us to report results for all groups of

students that have at least 30 members. Previously, we were able to use a size of 40 for two groups: English

language learners and students enrolled in special education programs.

Last year, about one-third of our schools and half of school districts missed meeting their “adequate yearly

progress” targets. This year, far more schools and districts will miss the target. Many will miss the target by very

little, or miss it in very few categories. Many will show steady student achievement progress, but won’t hit the

“uniform bar,” the one-size-fits-all state target. There is no “in between” category that better reflects the reality

and the challenges that our schools face, and the progress that they make each year.

I am developing a comprehensive proposal to fix what is broken about this law, so that it can revert to what it

was originally intended to be: a support mechanism for our schools.

Schools and districts across this state are doing heroic work. Our public school educators are serving the needs

of all of our children and helping them strive for greater success, no matter what their AYP status. They deserve

support and recognition from the government, not sanctions and inappropriately deserved labels. I stand ready

to work with our new President and the federal government on these issues to support public education. I’m as

proud as I can be of Washington state students, our educators, our schools and districts.