By Nancy Barkemeyer

For the Salisbury Post

The UNC system’s new president, Margaret Spellings, may not be a household name, but we educators have long recognized her as a primary mover in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) fiasco. To us, NCLB, may have had admirable goals at its inception, but it ushered in the deplorable era of “No Child Left Untested,” as we soon realized. Later, we shortened the era’s name to just “No Child Left.” Indeed.

Designed to hold schools accountable for the academic progress of all students, No Child Left put into place consequences for failing schools and teachers; school report card grades, evaluations, performance pay, do or die scenarios. The resulting unintended consequences for students were anxiety and confusion. Still, testing, re-testing, field testing, etc. continued from 2001 until it became apparent that No Child Left was no longer met everywhere with favor. The law was not reauthorized in 2007 and many of its advocates began to openly criticize the effects of high stakes testing. Spellings herself even called it a “toxic brand.”

So here we are in 2015. Testing is still alive and well even if No Child Left is not. And Spellings as the UNC system’s president is still a source of controversy and uneasiness. But this time it’s not just the schoolmarms who are worried. This time it’s the robed academics, and this is where it gets interesting.

Buried deep down in the news story of Spellings’ new appointment is a quote from the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a higher education think tank. Said President Michael Petrilli when asked about Spellings’ service on the Future of Higher Education Commission: “People were worried that she was going to try to bring No Child Left Behind to higher education and we all know why that analogy is a problem. The mission of higher education is so complex that you just can’t measure it with reading and math scores.”

Say what? How’s that, again?

I know he didn’t just say that the mission of K-12 is simple. Maybe that’s not what was meant, but it was the implication. In a world where teachers are required to constantly rethink their role as curriculum facilitator, social worker, tutor, counselor, cheerleader, community supporter, parent advisor, technology guru and nurse, nothing is simple. However, one of the things we know for sure about education is that there is nothing anyone can do to improve student achievement that is as important as providing highly skilled teachers. Nothing. And that goes for all grade levels.

That being said, can we move on? In the spirit of what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, let’s agree that the mission of our schools is educating all of our children. All of them. Higher education is indeed facing difficult problems but multiple-choice bubbles aren’t getting the job done in elementary school, either. Only in the strength of our unity will we find the solution.

No Child Left certainly didn’t work. But, welcome to North Carolina, Ms. Spellings. We wish you well.

 Nancy Barkemeyer was Rowan-Salisbury’s Principal of the Year for 2014-15 and recently retired.