Associate Editor Kathleen Kennedy Manzo contributed to this report. Just as the publication of A Nation at Risk prompted President Reagan to reassess his policies on education, the 25th anniversary of this influential report should provide an opportunity for federal policymakers to reconsider their current approach, according to Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. Speaking at an event marking the release of several reports in honor of the anniversary, Rep. Miller stated that now is the ideal time to reflect on the federal role in K-12 schools.
Rep. Miller, who serves as the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, believes that the federal government should continue to prioritize access to quality schools for underprivileged and minority students. He asserts that this can be achieved by holding schools accountable for improving student achievement. However, he also argues that states and school districts should be held accountable for providing the necessary resources to deliver a quality education. Rep. Miller emphasized the importance of focusing on opportunities to learn, equity, and access when reconsidering the federal role in education.
These remarks were made at an event organized by the Forum for Education and Democracy, a group critical of the testing and accountability measures mandated under the No Child Left Behind Act. The group’s report, "Democracy at Risk," calls on the federal government to incentivize states to equalize funding and implement opportunity-to-learn standards. These standards would require states to ensure adequate facilities, qualified teachers, and other resources to support student achievement.
This proposed approach would represent a significant departure from the current federal policies implemented under the NCLB law. While the law sets achievement goals for every school and holds Title I-funded schools accountable for meeting those goals, it fails to leverage federal policy to address funding disparities between states and districts, according to the Stewart, Ohio-based group.
The policies of the NCLB law were largely inspired by the standards-and-testing movement that emerged in the aftermath of A Nation at Risk. The 1983 report highlighted deficiencies in the nation’s schools and called for increased rigor in high school curriculum, longer school years, and the establishment of common standards. However, the report did not align with the Reagan administration’s objectives of expanding school choice and reducing the federal role in education. Edwin Meese III, a former White House adviser to President Reagan, explained in a recent speech that the report undermined the administration’s plans to abolish the newly established Department of Education. He argued that the federal government should minimize administrative burden and intrusiveness when providing educational assistance to states and districts.
Meese criticized the direction that the federal government has taken since then, stating that it has excessively regulated and influenced local schools and government activities. He praised Ronald Reagan for utilizing the presidency as a platform to emphasize the responsibility of state and local officials in education.