Education in the U.S. has been always a setting where students develop their creativity encompass with the technological and economic progress of a first world country. Every year, all educational institutions have been obligated to demonstrate the progress of their students by standardized tests, implement of new technology, and complete multiple requirements. In January 2002, George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind legislation that brought extensive criticism from the political point of view as well the educational institutions. Many people argue that the NCLB imposed more federal control over the local institutions in order to promote more equality of opportunity than the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Others claimed that NCLB “focuses less on resources than on how much students and schools achieve with the resources available to them” (Cantor, et al., 2006, p. 482). Therefore, what are circumstances led to NCLB legislation and its implications now?
In the previous legislation of 2001, the educational goal was “the federal government's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students, tied education to national policy objectives; in this case it was the War on Poverty” (Foundation, 2013). The new NCLB program highlights the commitment of the U.S. government to promote education as a national priority for the whole population. However, the new legislation on NCLB was oriented to “place key standards and accountability elements for states and local school districts that receive funding under the law. These accountability provisions were further developed in the most recent reauthorization, the No Child Left Behind Act” (Schwartz et al., 2006 p. 457). The accountability goal was to r...
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...at teachers have a great challenge in the horizon and the undeniable help for our students is essential. How as a country do we provide with the support that our kids need? I question myself if the NCLB is the proper approach to our future generation when we know that they have so many unexpected and unintentional consequences for many students?
Works Cited
Schwartz, S. H, Hodge, S. T., Saintil, D., (2006). Introduction to Assessing NCLB. Harvard Educational Review, 457-460.
Foundation, N. A. (2013, Jul 1). Federal Education Budget Project. No Child Left Behind- Overview.
Kantor, H., & Lowe, R. (2006). From new deal to no deal: No child left behind and the devolution of responsibility for equal opportunity. Harvard Educational Review, 76(4), 474-502,726. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.nu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/212339892?accountid=25320
Even with the negative and positive functions of No Child Left Behind, there are many areas that still need to ironed out. Under the Obama administration several states have received a waiver from No Child Left Behind, “with this waiver students will still be tested annually. But starting this fall, schools in those states will no longer face the same prescriptive actions spelled out under No Child Left Behind” (Feller & Hefling, 2012). Since 2007, the law has been up for review, but due to opponents of the law there has not been an agreement reached and the law continues to stress our schools and children out. We can only hope that when this law is reviewed and agreed upon that it really is in the best interest of our children and the nation as a whole.
The implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act applied a market approach to school reform as a way of improving the school system. This new law promised an era of high standards, testing, and accountability in
Neill, Monty. "The No Child Left Behind Act Is Not Improving Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 162-68. Print.
The NCLB Act will strengthen Title I accountability by requiring States to implement statewide accountability systems covering all public schools and students. These systems must be based on challenging State standards in reading and mathematics, annual testing for all students in grades 3-8, and annual statewide progress objectives ensuring that all groups of students reach proficiency within 12 years. Assessment results and State progress objectives must be broken out by poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, and limited English proficiency to ensure that no group is left behind.
Schemo, Diana Jean. (2003). The Presidents Budget Proposal: Education. New York Times Online. Retrieved March 10, 2003 from
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is currently the educational policy in the United States. Prior to NCLB the educational policies in effect were “A Nation at Risk, in 1987 America 2000, and a few years later with Goals 2000” (Eisner, 2001, p.21). No Child Left Behind is a test based accountability system used in schools to measure their performance holding the districts, administrators and teachers liable and accountable for the outcomes. Supovitz (2009) States that No Child Left Behind was a major reform initiative intended to bring about widespread improvements in student performance and reduce inequities between ethnic groups and other traditionally under-served populations like economically disadvantaged students, students from major racial
Rudalevige, A. (2003). The politics of No Child Left Behind. EducationNext, 3(4), 63-69. Retrieved from EducationNext: http://educationnext.org/the-politics-of-no-child-left-behind/
Since the No Child Left Behind Act has come into effect, it has caused some concerns with teachers and parents alike on how well it is working for the students. There have been issues to be addressed and instead been overlooked. Because in “Is No Child Left Behind Effective For All Students?” Parents Don’t Think So, a school who fails to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for four or more years is considered under corrective action and the state board must make serious changes to the school. Randolph and Wilson-Younger, (Oct. 22, 2012). Our government has offered states the chance to waive requirements but the states have to make specific reforms in exchange for flexibility. During the first round of waivers offered, 11 states applied. The states had to fill out applications. Each state must put in an application for a waiver and if a state receives a wavier it will last for two years and then they can reapply. These waivers are needed because the No Child Left Behind is broken. The laws can identify which schools that are in need of improvement based on their achievement targets. The law prescribes interventions but the interventions are not working as well as they could be. Lawmakers have proposed to move a bill to the Senate or House floor. However, the Republicans had p...
“Making the Grade,” which was published in the Salt Lake Tribune in September of this year, is an article arguing the negative sides of the No Child Left Behind Act. Through this article, a majority of the discussion regarded the budgeting involved with NCLB. This article calls No Child Left Behind a “one-size-fits-all formula for improving education in America” (Making the Grade). According to President Bush, the NCLB Act is “’the cornerstone’ of his administration” (Salt Lake Tribune). Like with any legislation, however, come both positive and negative sides.
... to changes to the current United States public schools. However, the people in charge of making the changes are the ones who profit and will probably never change their mindset. The school system needs to be changed entirely, but solutions to this problem simply aren’t out there. Experimentation needs to be done in certain school systems to determine the most successful method. Until then, the United States of America will continue to support a failing school system and will continue to produce uneducated adults.
Lee, Oliver. "Does No Child Left Behind Deserve a Passing Grade?" TakePart. N.p., 6 June 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
In the article “What Does It Mean to Educate the Whole Child?” Nel Noddings attempts to provide a deeper insight on what it means to educate the whole child. According to the article, public schools in the United States are currently facing a huge pressure to provide students with thorough and efficient education. In this connection, a program known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has endeavored to ensure that efficient education is provided to all minority children, especially the many who are in the inner-cities. Notwithstanding this endeavor, individuals from some quarters have criticized NCLB by claiming that it is an unfunded mandate since it comes up with costly demands without providing necessary resources to meet them. In effect, among
In society, education can be seen as a foundation for success. Education prepares people for their careers and allows them to contribute to society efficiently. However, there is an achievement gap in education, especially between Hispanics and Blacks. In other words, there is education inequality between these minorities and white students. This achievement gap is a social problem in the education system since this is affecting many schools in the United States. As a response to this social problem, the No Child Left Behind Act was passed to assist in closing this achievement gap by holding schools more accountable for the students’ progress. Unsuccessful, the No Child Left Behind Act was ineffective as a social response since schools were pushed to produce high test scores in order to show a student’s academic progress which in turn, pressured teachers and students even more to do well on these tests.
Stecher, Brian M., Georges Vernez, and Paul S. Steinberg. Reauthorizing No Child Left Behind: Facts and Recommendations. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2010. Print.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/62047086?accountid=14789. Hursh, D. (2007). The 'Standard'. Exacerbating inequality: The failed promise of the no child left behind act. Race, Ethnicity and Education,10(3), 295-308.