Panel discussion spurs action in the business ranks.

Members of the Business Roundtable have taken the message that Congress intends to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind legislation as a heads-up call to action.

The 160 chief executive officers who belong to the Washington, D.C.-based association launched a coalition with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to not only sustain the bill but strengthen it. The decision came after an annual forum in September with David Dunn, acting undersecretary and chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education; Rep. Howard McKeon (R-CA), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee; Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a ranking member of the committee; and Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association.

Business Roundtable, which advocates public policies that promote economic growth, got behind NCLB from the get-go, forming a similar coalition to push passage in 2001. "NCLB moves on the same path many states were already on as far as accountability," said Susan Traiman, director of public policy for education and workforce at Business Roundtable. "But still it's been a culture change for many educators. I don't think anyone in the business community is surprised that implementation has been difficult."

The fourth annual forum was part of an ongoing commitment to keep tabs on the legislation's progress. Traiman credits these gatherings' success in part to questions from the audience. "The give-and-take really lets us dig into the issue," she notes.

For instance, when asked about the mismatch between state test scores compared to the lower National Association of Educational Progress scores in the same subjects, the nation's report card, Miller admits he's not yet supporting national testing. McKeon added, "We don't have to worry too much about a national test or curriculum because it's never going to pass."

Miller said that NCLB is moving in the right direction, but that "doesn't mean it's easy; it doesn't mean it's perfect; it doesn't mean it doesn't need additional resources; and it doesn't mean it doesn't need change."