The article by Michelle R. Davis offers a great opportunity to see how others read the tea leaves on NCLB reauthorization.

By now school improvement providers should be painfully aware that just because there will be an NCLB II, doesn't mean their business is close to safe.

One point (not) made by Davis with overwhelming clarity is that the school improvement industry plays no material role in its own legislative future.

How is it (not) made? By never mentioning the industry. This is no isolated article either. The proverbial "man from Mars" would never know the law depends so heavily on private sector providers offering school improvement programs. Moreover, the press and policy wonks are not "missing something."  Facts on the ground bear out the assertion that the industry is a pawn in reauthorization, not a player.

Chances are there's a year or more to change a perception borne of reality. National security issues are filling up all available decision space in Washington. NCLB is too complicated to solve before fall, federal education policy is a good campaign issue for the Democrats, and the matter is too low on anyone's list of legislative priorities to be solved until after the Presidential election.

So the question for school improvement providers is simple. Your trade groups have a reprieve that may take them through January of 2009. What's their eigtheen-month plan for turning their importance from "less than zero" to a recognizable factor? What influential parties and people are they reaching out to? How? What's the basis of their proposed partnership or alliance? Are they repairing their lack of substantive knowledege on NCLB and k-12's technical issues? Do they have a policy theme broader than "what's good for our members is what's good for the country." Are they developing spokespersons from inside the industr?. Is there a budget to carry out their plans? Are your trade group leaders competent to carry out the plan? Who are they bringing in to help?

Be an informed consumer of trade association services. Shop around. Here are the school improvement industry's leading trade groups - in alphabetical order.  (Publishers trade groups are for the most part dominated by the "old education industry".) Check out the websites.

Education Industry Association

Coalition for Comprehensive School Improvement

Knowledge Alliance. See their article in the May 1 issue of New Education Economy®

National Council of Education Providers

Software and Information Industry Association's Education Division

If you don't like the answers for your association, you have time to push for changes in management - or more likely to throw your weight and dues behind a trade group that has its act together.