The primary strategy of Act 51 is empowerment of local communities, made possible by the decentralizing of resources and authority.

The federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB), on the other hand, moves entirely in the opposite direction. It is a centralizing strategy characterized by reliance on standardized tests and punitive measures that call for "failing schools" to be taken over by the state DOE.

Designed by the Bush administration as the remedy for what it perceives as a failing American educational system, NCLB mandates universal "high stakes testing" as the primary strategy for raising standards to more rigorous levels and for holding schools accountable.

Anna Quindlen, writing this summer in Newsweek, described NCLB as "no child left untested," and observed that "constant testing no more addresses the problems with education than constantly putting an overweight person on the scales to cure obesity."

The NCLB one-size-fits-all approach to accountability will not work. We all know teachers who tell us they are spending virtually all of their time preparing students to take standardized tests. And who has not heard of schools redirecting money from art and music to core subjects — "back to basics" — as a defensive measure?

Teachers know that testing is not an end in itself, but a means. Testing should be used frequently and formatively by teachers to adjust their teaching to the needs of students.

Such testing devised at the school or state level, to measure steady and incremental progress toward agreed upon learning goals and objectives, will help teachers make mid-course adjustments to curriculum and instruction to maximize learning.

Certainly such tests should be rigorous and keyed to high expectations, with sensitivity and common sense concerning students with severe learning challenges.

This is not what happens under the provisions of NCLB. This is a race to a nationally determined finished line, with very few rewards for those who are successful, and with ample punishments for those who "fail." In fact, many scholars believe that eventually nearly all schools will fail to meet NCLB standards.

Here in Hawai'i, the 40 schools now being "restructured" via NCLB were making improvements in student learning. But under the provisions of NCLB "failure" was probably preordained.

We are not the only school community to be concerned about NCLB. Policymakers in numerous states are contemplating challenges. Connecticut (a blue state) has filed a lawsuit against the federal government recently. Utah (a red state) is also opting out of NCLB, and making plans to do without $76 million in federal education money. These concerns transcend political boundaries or persuasions.

The National Education Association (NEA) is recommending a number of reasonable ideas to modify NCLB, and is calling on the Feds to "fix and fund" it.

We need fully funded federal initiatives for our nation's schools, with broadly defined goals set in Washington, D.C. However, states should be permitted flexibility and latitude in terms of the process that works best given local conditions.

Federal resources might be attached to compliance guidelines, suitably crafted at the state and district level, reflecting regional differences, cultural traditions, and the leadership of local education leaders and policymakers.

Act 51 meets these criteria. It was designed by a cross-section of highly qualified policy-level executives and leaders from all across our community: the Legislature, Department of Education, University of Hawai'i, the business community. The U.S. Department of Education in Washington must be encouraged now, in the next few months, to assign a high level of credibility to these Hawai'i efforts, and use these as a basis for compliance with national standards.

The transformative power of this situation, if it were to be achieved here in Hawai'i, would integrate NCLB provisions into the policies and practices of Act 51.

Our state and national political leaders — our congressional delegation, the governor, House and Senate leadership, and the Board of Education— must be encouraged to work together to negotiate an agreement with Washington replacing the more punitive provisions of NCLB with incentives for schools to move toward full implementation of Act 51.

Specifically, such an agreement would allow for:

Resolving the paradox of two equally powerful school reform initiatives requires the utmost of discipline, the courage to reconcile two seemingly opposite forces, and faith that our cause is urgent enough to act now on behalf of schoolchildren in classrooms throughout the state.

Working together, we can achieve this seemingly insurmountable goal on behalf of Hawai'i's children.

Robert M. Witt is executive director of the Hawaiçi Association of Independent Schools. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.