The Effects of Education Mandates in Schools

The Effects of Education Mandates in Schools

There has been a recent "surge" of education mandates being passed. These new mandates have had a major effect on the productivity of public schools and have forced some schools to change their methods in terms of how and what they teach.

The "surge" of education mandates began with the implementation of Title I. in 1965. Almost every piece of education legislation since then has been to improve or update Title I. "Title I, Part A provides funds to state departments of education and in turn to local school districts to provide quality learning opportunities for students in low-income schools to meet challenging academic standards."(No Subject 8). It also funds programs to strengthen all core subjects including the arts (8). In order for educational agencies to receive these grants, they must "meet the requirements of four separate funding formulas: Basic Grants, Concentration Grants, Targeted Grants, and Education Finance Incentive Grants."(8).

The most recent mandate dealing with Title I is the No Child Left Behind Act enacted in 2001. This act deals with student achievement standards by holding schools accountable for the achievement of their students. The NCLBA uses standardized tests to chart the success of students. If students are not meeting standards, the school is required to offer tutoring, which is funded by the state with Title I grant money.

From the national government’s view, the No Child Left Behind Act helps schools use available resources more efficiently, thus giving the students a better education. “President Bush knows students can succeed if they are using the best materials, proven lesson plans and textbooks aligned with state standards.” (Investing 1). The common view is that “solid research equals solid results.” (1). They also believe that there are some key characteristics to reliable research. The characteristics are as follows:

* Scientific Method- A hypothesis is formulated then tested.

* Replicated- Several studies are done and have similar results.

* Generalized- The study findings can be applied to a broad range of students.

* Meets Rigorous Standards- “The studies design, measures, and interpretation of results meet rigorous standards of peer review.” (1) .

* Convergent Findings- Results found by using different approaches are the same.