What is the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act?
70Teachers are the Key to Success.
NCLB Act Signed by Pres. George Bush in 2002.
It has been 10 years since the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into as law in 2002. It is now time to measure the positive effects of the testing and scores to see if it has been effective in the lives of the students here in the United States. Recent test indicate that the program has been a failure and some exceptions must be put in place to continue the education for children.
- The act was to ensure that all students had a high quality education, and goals were set to measure the success of the program.
- Did the curriculum challenge and motivate the students?
- Did it provide highly qualified teachers who had proven track methods?
- Did it ensure a safe drug free learning environment?
- Did the schools provide school report cards for the parents?
- Did they provide the school records to tell you how well your child was doing in school?
The answer if NO to all of the questions and the Act has been deemed as a failure for most states. The law proves accountability to work toward the goals. Under the NCLB Act the schools are required to:
- Have specific goals and expectations for achievement.
- Be able to measure the child progress with approved tests.
- Publish the reports charting the school's performance.
In order to achieve the goals the schools must provide teacher training and professional development in order to improve their instruction. The States must set goals that the schools have to meet in order to be successful.
There is also consideration for students with disabilities under the NCLB Act. It is a requirement of the law to provide accommodations for students with disabilities during these assessments. The communities and schools can use federal money in the areas where it is needed. Teacher training or replacing old computers and equipment.
When President Bush signed the law into effect he did it to improve schools and make sure that no child was trapped in a failing school. A lot of taxpayer's money has been allocated for the purpose of educating children.
The NCLB Act requires that there be testing in math, reading and science. The tests are done on a statewide bases annually during the grades of 3-8, and at least once during grades 10-12. The states must also give tests in science once during grades 3-5, and 6-9, and 10-12.
Inorder to achieve better reading scores the teacher must teach phonics, and vocabaulary. If the student can't pronounce a word then he/she will not be able to spell the word. This will cause a problem later in the upper grades. Students should be working on phonics as early as kindergarden. By learning to sound out a word you are learning to spell the word.
Under the law NCLB the student has the right to transfer to another school if the standards are too low at the school they are attending.
There are also public charter school that have recently sprung up all over the country. I find that there is a problem with these schools. They are not required to have the same academic structure as other public schools. They are suppose to teach the basics in math and reading. They also offer other programs that are not found in public schools.
Charter School teachers do not have to have teacher certification, for their staff members. It should be noted that test scores were low with certified teachers and non-certified teachers do not the background of teaching students. You could also try and homeschool your child with a planned curriculum and be successful. If you homeschooled you would focus on the important subjects, reading, math, and science. Education is the key to success in this country. Children must be motivated to learn.
Under President Obama the administration has sought to lower the requirements of the NCLB Act, The states after 10 years have not met the defined scores. If he does not lower the requirements the states would not get the federal money that they would receive. The real question is WHY. After 10 years what was the reason for not meeting the requirements of the NCLB Act?
If you want to learn more about NCLB Act go to:
1-800-USA-LEARN or 1-800-872-5327
visit: visit the No Child Left Behind Act Web site at: www.ed.gov/nclb
Summary
We as parents must get involved in the education in this country. Even if you don't have children you are paying to education them and you need to make sure your tax dollar is being spent in the most effective manner to educate. Find out what is being done under the NCLB Act at your local schools, city and state.
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No Child Left Behind is one of the worst educational laws ever written. This law, in effect, has teachers teaching to a state test and not for understanding and learning. Where once teachers were given freedom to add some excitement to learning, they are now criticized for it because it does not fit the set curriculum.
There is also a part of the law that states that all children will be on grade level by 2014. As a special education teacher I know that this is not possible. My little one with fetal alcohol syndrome will learn at his own pace but will, in all likelihood, never be on grade level. My little one that has the label of intellectual disability with an IQ of around 50, will progress, but not at the pace of his peers. My little one with severe autism is very bright, but because of social and language issues will still be below his potential.
I believe that the Bush administration had good intentions when this law was written, but didn't understand the consequences of the law. Much like administrators that have never been in a classroom or have not been in a classroom in so long that everything has changed...
Nan Mynatt Hub Author 3 months ago
justateacher you are correct, and I hope more people will read the comments. We have spent a lot of money going no where with the NCLB Act trying to educate children. Yes, I too am a teacher and the restrictions are standardized. It was a good idea, but good teacher were already teaching to enrich the children and their test scores. I think that we need to address the test scores next. What do they really reflect any way, who said that they are good test. How can so many kids fail the test or get low scores. I for one will say that if you were in class all period or all day, you did learn something by listening to other kids and the teacher. There is exposure everyday in the class. Some kids will never have higher scores, that is why we have special education. Special education is a difficult subject to teach and some teacher find that it is a burn out curriculum, you put more into the teaching, and don't see the return of your teaching. Thanks for the input!