Education secretary is unfazed by Utah's rebellion over NCLB

WASHINGTON — It is enough to give any observer of American politics intellectual vertigo. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings heads a department that, 10 years ago, many Republicans vowed to abolish in order to limit federal intrusion into a state responsibility. Yet George W. Bush's administration has increased the department's budget by 40 percent — more than the Defense budget. Had 9/11 not happened, Bush's administration might be defined primarily by its education policy, particularly the No Child Left Behind law. But the nation's reddest state, Utah, where Bush won 72 percent of the 2004 vote, is sounding like South Carolina in 1860: Were there a Fort Sumter nearby, Utah would shell it. Utah has opened fire on a federal target — Spellings — to protest NCLB.

Nevertheless, she is serene, and not because the 3,341 artillery rounds fired at Fort Sumter killed only a horse. A sassy Texan — she can say "We're all good federalists" with a straight face — she sometimes seems to be spoiling for a fight. She says Utah's, and some other states', lack of serenity stems from the fact that NCLB is doing what it is supposed to do — reveal embarrassing facts.

To build accountability on a firm foundation of data, NCLB requires states to measure, with recurring tests, progress toward the "proficiency" of all students by 2014. It also requires — Spellings says this is Utah's grievance — states to disaggregate its data to reveal the progress of subgroups, including minority and low-income students, those learning English and special education students. This is to prevent states from reporting a general progress that masks certain groups being left behind.

One test shows Utah's Hispanics three years behind whites in the same grades. Hispanic fourth-graders in Utah have worse reading skills than their Hispanic counterparts in all but two states and the District of Columbia.

The theory propounded by supporters of NCLB is that by identifying lagging groups and failing schools the law will agitate business communities concerned about the quality of local work forces, and will embarrass governments and parents. Until 2014, when NCLB requires universal "proficiency."