Policy Problem and Solution: The No Child Left Behind Act

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Policy Problem and Solution
The U.S is now facing a problem that affects children today and in the future. These children are the future of the U.S, so shouldn’t they all have the highest quality of education possible. Through new policies implemented by the Board of Education, education has become a competition for schools to earn their funding. The Race to the top is a mandate (p.81) which is a formal order from the national government that the states carry out certain polices, is supposed to create incentive to improve and reform schools (ESEA Blueprint for Reform, 2009), by requiring evaluation systems of teachers to compete with other schools (A. Levine and M. Levine, 2012). Race to the top has created pressure on states, districts, and teachers to improve test scores as a means to earn or keep funds. The act also rewards districts and teachers that show improvement according to student’s standardized test scores and enforces reform on schools that do not improve or meet the requirements (ESEA Blueprint for Reform, 2009). Pressure can lead to districts, principle or teachers to cheat, so they may keep their jobs or keep their funding (A. Levine and M. Levine, 2012). Teachers, principals and districts salaries are based on rigorous evolutions that are based on student’s standardized test scores. This can also determine who is hired and fired, and which schools get funding and how much funding they will receive (A. Levine and M. Levine, 2012).
The No Child Left behind Act (NCLB), a Conditional grant (p.81) defined as federal grants with provisions requiring that state and local governments follow certain policies in order to obtain funds, implemented high standards in 2001 by the Bush administration. The requirement made by NCL...

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...uchico.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=88915b21-2471-4fbe-b4ef-e2ff4647ea69%40sessionmgr4002&vid=3&hid=4213 . 3 Mar. 2014.
Pianta, Robert C., and Progress Center for American. "Implementing Observation Protocols: Lessons for K-12 Education from The Field of Early Childhood." Center for American Progress (2012): ERIC. http://www.eric.ed.gov.mantis.csuchico.edu/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED535604 . 4 May 2014.
Shelly, Bryan. "Flexible Response: Executive Federalism And The No Child Left Behind Act Of 2001." Educational Policy 26.1 (2012): 117-135. ERIC. http://epx.sagepub.com.mantis.csuchico.edu/content/26/1/117.full.pdf+html . 3 Mar. 2014.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, ESEA Blueprint for Reform, Washington D.C., 2010. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf . 29 Mar. 2014.

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