[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 4 (Thursday, January 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H108-H109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ANNIVERSARY AND EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, Friday marks the 14th 
anniversary of the enactment of the No Child Left Behind legislation 
which, when we passed it, held so many dreams and so many aspirations 
for all of us because we believed that our children would get a world-
class education out of that. Unfortunately, No Child Left Behind, with 
all its potential, fell short.
  So I think it is important that we all understand and we all believe 
in this Chamber that through education, we lift this Nation. It is 
probably the greatest investment that we can make in the American 
people. That is why, as lawmakers, we have to really work on the best 
policies for education, starting at the national level, because we now 
compete internationally, and, of course, at the State and at our local 
levels right at our school boards.
  I have been to every single school in my district in Orange County. I 
have

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met with teachers, with parents, with administrators, and with business 
leaders. They all had concerns with No Child Left Behind. That is why I 
think the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, a 
landmark piece of bipartisan legislation, hopefully will fix the 
outdated policies of that No Child Left Behind legislation.
  The new legislation, the new law we just passed, takes into 
consideration the collective criticisms of the teachers, the students, 
parents, administrators, business leaders, and everyone who is involved 
in the education of our children. The ESSA has the support of many 
civil rights groups, teaching groups, and community institutions.
  I would like to highlight a few of the improvements our parents and 
students can look forward to with this new law.
  During the No Child Left Behind era, schools were not held 
accountable for ensuring that the most disadvantaged students actually 
were aided and helped to get an education. The Every Student Succeeds 
Act changes this. It benefits low-income students, minority students, 
English language learners by requiring the schools to include student 
data about these groups so that we can make better policy for the 
accountability of how these students learn.
  States are also required to create exit and entrance exams for 
English language learners, ensuring that they will actually receive 
attention in these classrooms and will learn.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I know that we all think that there are way too 
many tests in life every single day, and of course it is not the 
favorite part of the school day to take a test. The high-stakes testing 
that was under No Child Left Behind has created a lot of anxiety 
campuswide. Teachers felt the need to teach to the test, rather than 
actually teach the student that critical learning that must take place 
in the classroom at an early age.
  My mom was a teacher. She finally got out because she got tired of 
teaching to the test, test, test, test. She had seven kids, and they 
all have master's and Ph.D.s. She was a parent teacher before she went 
to teach in the classroom, and she knew that students learn in 
different ways, that not everybody learned the same way.
  She would work with students. Some students learn verbally, some by 
test-taking, others by acting out plays that get across the idea. There 
was no time in the classroom after No Child Left Behind. It was just 
one way: the test, the test, the test.
  I am proud to say that high-stakes testing under the new law will no 
longer disadvantage our schools who don't pass those tests. There are 
going to be other ways, including tests, to decide whether schools, 
teachers, and educators are doing well by our children in the 
classroom. Testing students will not be the end-all of what is 
happening in the classrooms.
  Schools also have the flexibility to pilot innovative testing 
measures, allowing more time for learning in the classroom.
  I am excited about this new law, Mr. Speaker, and I hope that we 
continue to look at it and make sure that every child has a chance in 
this education system.

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