POLITICO: Education Secretary Arne Duncan will call for repealing and replacing the nation’s landmark federal education law, No Child Left Behind, joining Republicans in Congress in pushing what could be the most significant rewrite of federal education law in 14 years…
Key congressional Republicans have suggested they will consider paring back the federal testing requirements. Teachers unions and parent groups have also called for cutbacks. The Obama administration has expressed sympathy with concerns about overtesting but has insisted that annual standardized exams are needed to assess student progress and hold schools and teachers accountable.
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander has made rewriting the law one of his priorities; he has scheduled a hearing on the testing mandate for later this month — on the same day President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union. The House is also likely to move quickly. Rep. John Kline, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said Thursday that he plans to have a bill on the House floor “before the end of March.” … (more)
