The federal government messing about in the field of education is much like a chicken scratching in a plate of caviar. The chicken has no concept of the complexity of the stuff and no appreciation of the miracle of nature that created it. All three hundred and eighty four members of the House of Representatives and ninety one Senators who voted for passage of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 appear to have had the sensibility of a chicken.
No Child Left Behind is the latest of a long series of federal legislative failures that began with the National Defense Education Act of 1958. This act was inspired by the launch of the Russian Sputnik which caused legislators to jump to the not so obvious conclusion that Americans no longer had the sense to control their own education. Next came The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), which was a stroke of political genius. It contained something called Title I, which provided money for schools with few strings attached. It was very friendly and voluntary, but Title I would rise to become a massive club held over public education.
The fever of educational failure kicked into high gear and was fueled to madness by the spurious report of 1989 called A Nation at Risk. That particular charge was led by H. Ross Perot who went on to distinguish himself in American politics. President George H.W. Bush subsequently jumped on the bandwagon with America 2000 in 1991 which thankfully was never enacted due to reasonable concerns about federal intrusion into states rights. President Clinton however, somehow managed to brush aside those concerns and signed into law a bill known as Goals 2000: Educate America Act in March of 1994. (Superfine, 2005) At the time this was the largest power grab in the history of education. It pales in comparison however, to The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
This brief and incomplete history of federal involvement in education has one consistent theme running through it -- the federal desire for control of education.
No one outside of Washington seemed to realize that this line of thinking is simply a resurrection of Frederick Taylor's discredited management theory -- scientific management (Taylor, 1911). Taylor was hailed as a genius for a period of time both in Europe and in the halls of power in the United States. His theory was simple: managers should break work down into small units that are measurable, measure each unit (time them) and thereby establish a standard for that unit of work. From that point forward all workers are expected to meet that standard. Through this process all work comes under the tight control of management. It sounds good because it is "scientific" -- right? Unfortunately for Frederick Taylor his theories completely neglected the humanity of the workers subjected to this practice. They complained that they were being dehumanized -- turned into nothing more than machines -- which they were -- as are our children.
How exactly does this parallel what has been going on throughout the history of federal involvement in education? It is clear that throughout the aforementioned legislative attempts to gain control of education there are several underlying beliefs which persist even now. First is the clear belief that education (all learning) can and should be broken down into small and measurable units -- standards. Second, is the belief that all workers, er... students, should be required to meet the same standards. Third, is the belief that all students can and should be required to meet these standards in the same required time, no exceptions and no excuses. Fourth, is the belief that all things are subject to scientific measurement. And finally, there is the belief that this can be accomplished only through coercion, otherwise known today as, accountability.
American educators want accountability as much as anyone. They want genuine accountability -- not the fraud of standardized assessment. Standardized testing is no different than Frederick Taylor's disciples standing around with stopwatches. It is dehumanizing -- even worse -- it is meaningless. Genuine accountability is accountability of practice. Schools can and should be held accountable for their practice. This can be accomplished through regular, thorough, and expert audits of schools. Phi Delta Kappan International already has a great model. They conduct school practice audits, which, if employed, could look closely at the internal practices of every school in the country. That is accountability -- for schools.
No Child Left Behind is up for reauthorization this year. If the Congress does the right thing and drives a stake through its ugly heart, there may be hope for our schools and our children. Don't expect it however, because this action would require nearly all of them to eat a lot of crow -- and chickens don't like crow. The more likely scenario is that the Congress will tinker with it a little and reauthorize it. NCLB will hover over the landscape for a few more years before the next step in the plan is set in motion. Then we will feel the full weight and bearing of the federal government. We will see federal standards, federally controlled assessment, federal control of funding, and a federal curriculum. Diversity of thought in public education is a dead man walking.
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Superfine, Benjamin Michael (2005), The Politics of Accountability: The Rise and Fall of Goals 2000, American Journal of Education 112, November 2005
Taylor, Frederick W. (1911), The Principles of Scientific Management, Harper Brothers, New York, NY
