Teachers share concerns with teaching to standardized tests

Local teachers want U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack to know they worry about teaching to standardized tests.

The educators met with the congressman on Wednesday at the state education association's headquarters here, telling him of their hopes for the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which will replace the No Child Left Behind Act.

“We want to look at the whole child and not just reading and math (scores),” said Tammy Wawro, president of the Cedar Rapids Education Association.

Many of the educators said they also were disappointed with the competitive aspects of the Department of Education's recent Race to the Top grants, which Iowa did not win, and were worried about similar processes in a new schools bill. The grants are intended to reward innovative techniques that help children learn.

Loebsack, a former college professor, agreed with the teachers' concerns and said he doubted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization would come before the U.S. House during its upcoming three-week House session.

Loebsack said he wants any bill that addresses federal funding for education to be flexible enough to handle the varying concerns of different districts and states.

“Not all of the problems of inner-city L.A. are relevant to Cedar Rapids,” he said.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was proposed by the Obama administration in March 2010 to address many of the frequently criticized elements of No Child Left Behind.

Loebsack also discussed with the teachers a $26 billion aid package to states to help prevent school district layoffs. He does not know exactly how the funding will be distributed, but he expects the bill will save the jobs of 1,800 Iowa teachers.

The bill is funded by closing tax loopholes for foreign corporations and through federal stimulus funding originally planned for food stamp benefits starting in 2014. Loebsack said there was plenty of time to reallocate the food stamp funding.

“The bottom line is we've got to have teachers in our schools, and this will let districts rehire the teachers they laid off,” Loebsack said.

Loebsack's Republican opponent this fall, Dr. Marianette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa, said she would not have voted for the aid package.

“There was $30 billion of unspent money for education on the last stimulus that was allocated for this year that wasn't spent,” said Miller-Meeks during a visit in Marion on Wednesday.  “They could have used that money to pay for this.”