'Do more than fix a bad NCLB law'

George Wood & Pedro Noguera, two of the convenors of the Forum on Education and Democracy, offer up their perspective on ESEA reauthorization. They call on the Administration and Congress to do more than fix a bad law--"We want them to invest in public schools in ways that prepare every young person to use his or her mind well."

Their main points:

• Invest in teaching, rather than trying to "micro-manage schools through curriculum and testing mandates."

• Invest in the Research and Development of Assessments of Student Achievement that Focus on Higher Order Thinking Skills rather than Rote Memory:

• Rethink the current approach to educational policy—"with the federal government attempting to do what it is uniquely unsuited to do as in mandating teaching practices and curricular approaches, while leaving the heavy lifting of teacher supply, research, and equity to the states."