Coalition to Support Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind Act

A group of concerned parties consisting of businesses, education, and community and civil rights groups launched a new campaign called NCLB Works! Coalition members include Business Coalition for Student Achievement, Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights, The Education Trust, The LINKS, Inc., and National Center for Educational Accountability and National Council of La Raza. (NCLB Works!) Although individual groups have their own set of recommendations, the group has targeted eight principles in common that they believe should guide the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act this year.

The House committee of Education and Labor and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions are currently drafting changes to the legislation. NCLB Works targets these agencies in their attempts to assure that vital components are not overlooked.

NCLB Works believes that NCLB has been successful in improving the academic achievement for all students.

"The business community is proud to join with education and civil rights leaders to highlight how the No Child Left Behind Act has worked and identify ways to strengthen it to prepare students for an increasingly competitive workplace," said Jacque Johnson, Executive Director for the Education & Workforce Development Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (NCLB Works)

The eight areas of agreement are:

1. Expectations: All students are expected to learn and attain grade level proficiency in core subjects.

2. State standards and assessments: States retain the flexibility to develop standards and annual state assessments to measure mastery of those standards in reading and science.

3. Incentives for High Schools to set high academic standards to ensure graduates have the skills necessary for success after high school. Hold districts accountable for improving graduation rates.

4. Hold schools accountable for all students reaching proficiency in in math and science by 2014.

5. Close the achievement gap by holding districts accountable for raising the math and reading achievement of all students