Coalition Press Releases
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Kirk Monroe John Reid
|
Business Coalition for Student Achievement Expresses Support for Department of Education Pilot Program on Differentiation
WASHINGTON, DC—The Business Coalition for Student Achievement (BCSA), representing business leaders from every sector of the U.S. economy, today announced its support for the pilot program on differentiated accountability announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. This program will allow states to target resources to those schools most in need of intensive interventions and significant reform as opposed to schools that are making consistent progress, but are just missing the goal.
BCSA’s recommendations to strengthen and improve the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) include a provision for differentiated accountability. With this pilot, BCSA believes that the Department is moving forward in a measured and judicious way, following a rigorous review process to ensure that the program builds upon the fundamental principles of NCLB.
“We are pleased that Secretary Spellings has listened to input from Governors, legislators, educators and the business community – addressing concerns that NCLB did not sufficiently differentiate between schools that were making little progress and those in need of major assistance and strong interventions,” said BCSA spokespersons, Susan Traiman, Director of Education and Workforce Policy for Business Roundtable and Arthur Rothkopf, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President.
###
The Business Coalition for Student Achievement – representing business leaders from every sector of the economy – is committed to supporting policies that improve the performance of the K-12 education system in the United States. The Coalition is co-chaired by Craig R. Barrett, Chairman of Intel; Arthur F. Ryan, Chairman of Prudential Financial, Inc.; and Edward B. Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO of State Farm, and is coordinated by Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
