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Home > Interviews > Interview with Jack Jennings
Voices of Innovation: Jack Jennings
An Interview with Jack Jennings, Founder and President of the Center on Education Policy
To comprehend the impact that standards-based reforms and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy has on students, school curricula and access to arts education, Keep Arts in Schools spoke with Jack Jennings, Founder and President of the Center on Education Policy.
Prior to his work at the Center, Mr. Jennings was a subcommittee staff director and then general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor. Mr. Jennings has been involved in nearly every major national education debate over the last forty years and serves on the board of trustees for a number of education-related organizations.
Mr. Jennings, your organization has tracked public school students' educational experience since the initiation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Based on your research, can you outline some of the major educational trends resulting from NCLB?
The No Child Left Behind Act has excellent goals: to raise student achievement in the country, and to close the achievement gap between different groups of students. Its implementation has led to greater attention being paid to students who have done poorly in school, and stronger efforts to improve schools that have not raised test scores. It has also led to teachers focusing more on aligning the curriculum they are teaching to state learning standards, teachers using test data more to inform instruction, and to greater teacher coordination of efforts. NCLB has also led to a narrowing of the curriculum for many students—particularly for those students attending schools identified as in need of improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under NCLB. Finally, the law has led to an over-reliance on test scores as a measure of a good education.
Even before NCLB, standards-based education reform focused on testing – has NCLB significantly influenced that focus? Has the Center found a marked difference in educational outcomes before and after NCLB?
You are right that NCLB is only the latest version of the decade-and-a-half long standards-based reform movement, but NCLB is having a big impact on teaching and learning because it has high goals, precise timelines, public disclosure of test data, and penalties on schools if they do not raise test scores adequately.
In June 2007 we released a report analyzing all 50 states' test results and found that test scores in general are going up and that there is evidence that the achievement gap is narrowing for a number of groups of students. Although a causal connection cannot be made, this is all happening as every state implements standards-based reform in its latest version, NCLB.
On average, what is the extent to which districts have changed their curriculum to align themselves with NCLB standards? Does this differ among schools in urban, suburban or rural settings?
We do not have precise measures of the extent to which schools are aligning their curriculum to state standards required by NCLB, and I do not believe that anyone else has these precise measures either. But, from our surveys and interviews of state and local educators, we see that there is a clear tendency to align school curriculums to state standards. This trend is especially seen in the schools with large numbers of students from low-income households and in schools with many different groups of students, because those schools generally have lower test scores than other schools, and so are trying harder to raise their scores.
According to our nationally representative survey of public school districts in the U.S., between 73% and 77% of districts report that as of school year 2006-07, their English language arts and math curricula at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are "very well aligned" with the state assessment used for NCLB. Since 2001-02, about 50% of districts reported they have changed the elementary school English language arts curriculum "to a great extent" to place more emphasis on the content and skills covered on the state tests used for NCLB, and 41% of districts reported doing the same in math. The responses were similar in these subjects at the middle and high school levels.
What is your opinion of learning in and through the arts as part of a student's overall education?
An appreciation for the arts, and the development of artistic abilities, are essential characteristics of a good education.
The Center's research shows that NCLB has decreased the amount of time schools dedicate to other subjects, like art and music – specifically schools identified for improvement. What do we know about how this narrowing of the curriculum is affecting students and the learning process?
We do not yet know precisely the effects on students of the loss of time on arts education due to spending more time on reading and math, but if over a significant period of a student's education, he or she is not taught about art and music, that student will be the worse off for it. Such students will not know how to appreciate arts and music and may not be able to develop an ability they have in these areas.
What can schools and parents do to help maintain a well-balanced curriculum for their students?
The standards-based accountability movement is having a great effect currently, some good and some bad. When Congress renews NCLB this year or next, it should consider amendments that would encourage a comprehensive curriculum for every student. Parents should advocate for that.
Do you believe that a well-rounded education is an issue of equity?
Without a doubt. Our survey data indicate that proportionally more districts with identified schools, which are oftentimes schools with significant numbers of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, are increasing time in English languages arts and math and are cutting time in other subjects—including art and music—compared to districts without any identified schools. More specifically, 12% of districts with no identified schools reported cutting time in art and music compared with 30% of districts with identified schools reported cutting time in art and music since NCLB was enacted.
How can schools and parents encourage schools to give adequate emphasis to art and music?
School boards are usually elected by the public, and so those standing for office listen to the public. School superintendents, school principals, and educators also listen.
How do you expect NCLB has or will impact students' education and learning habits in the long run?
Students are certainly learning that tests count. We can only hope that they also appreciate that learning counts too.
Given your observations, do you predict this emphasis on testing for literacy and mathematics will continue? What will likely happen to the current NCLB policy?
The current emphasis on tests for reading and math will continue for at least several more years. If NCLB is amended this year or next, then there is a chance that the focus can become broadened to encompass a curriculum of greater breadth and depth.
Click here to read our NCLB toolkit.
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