Dive Brief:
- A Seattle elementary school teacher, Rachelle Moore, and University of Washington researcher, Dan Goldhaber, testified before Congress on Tuesday about No Child Left Behind and the bill's impact on the classroom.
- Washington state senator Patty Murray asked the duo to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to help advise on what the new bill should look like.
- Murray personally wants to see states have more agency with the reauthorization, as well as more support for low-income students, tribal students, military kids, and homeless children.
Dive Insight:
"There is no 'average' student. Each student is shaped by individual experiences," Moore said, according to the Associated Press. "And those experiences must be taken into consideration when shaping policies geared toward improving student success."
While Moore was more concerned about finding ways to support and help educators, Goldhaber zeroed in on the controversial subject of testing. Goldhaber, the director of the Center for Education Data and Research at the University of Washington, expressed fears that the reauthorization would move away from annual testing, explaining that the data provided since 2001 has been illuminating. He told the committee that getting rid of mandatory tests "would greatly limit the information we need to make schools better."
