Joint Organizational Statement
on No Child Left Behind - October 21, 2004
On October 21, 2004, NCSS joined 82 national education, civil rights, religious and civic organizations as signatories of the "Joint Organizational Statement on NCLB" calling for a major overhaul of federal K-12 education law. (The list of signers was 120 as of April 17, 2007).
Based on concerns raised during the implementation of NCLB, signers of the joint statement believe that significant, constructive corrections are necessary to make the Act fair and effective. Among these concerns are: over-emphasizing standardized testing, narrowing curriculum and instruction to focus on test preparation rather than richer academic learning; over-identifying schools in need of improvement; using sanctions that do not help improve schools; inappropriately excluding low-scoring children in order to boost test results; and inadequate funding. Overall, the law's emphasis needs to shift from applying sanctions for failing to raise test scores to holding states and localities accountable for making the systemic changes that improve student achievement. The statement makes recommendations for revision of the law in five significant areas.
 Click here to read the Joint Organization Statement on No Child Left Behind
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National Council for the Social Studies
