[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE STUDENT SUCCESS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Walker). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, soon the House of 
Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 5, the Student Success Act. 
H.R. 5 represents a long overdue rewrite of the current No Child Left 
Behind with new policies that aim to ensure that every student in this 
country has access to a quality public education.
  For years our Federal education policy has been failing our Nation's 
students--the statistics do not lie. Today only 38 percent of seniors 
in high school can read at grade level, and just 26 percent are 
proficient in math.
  While I do not believe that any Member can be in total agreement with 
every aspect of the proposed bill, it is important to recognize the 
underlying goal of reducing the Federal Government's role in education 
while empowering States and especially local school districts with 
discretion over academic standards and testing.
  While truly well intentioned, the current law places undue pressures 
upon young learners and has turned hardworking, compassionate teachers 
into test proctors. This is not fair to those who have worked 
tirelessly to ensure our children are receiving a quality education, 
nor is it fair to our children, who are not receiving a well-rounded 
education but memorizing answers to specific test questions.
  It has become overwhelmingly clear that the Washington bureaucrats 
don't know how to educate our children. I can assure you that parents, 
administrators, and local school boards understand what is best for 
their children. It is time for our Federal Government to take a 
backseat and give power over education back to the States, the true 
laboratories of innovation.
  Mr. Speaker, we are not going to agree upon every issue when it comes 
to education. However, now is the time to act. Our children deserve as 
much, and our Nation's future depends on it.

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