This post was written by Elaine Hirsch.
In 2001 the Bush administration implemented the No Child Left Behind Act. This law aimed to overhaul the American education system by enacting strict guidelines and standards. In order to receive federal dollars, every school has been required to met proficiency benchmarks. This law was never intended to last for over ten years without any changes whatsoever. In fact, the assumption was that over the course of the next few years after its passage the law would be updated and its problems addressed. This periodic updating never happened. Congress has done very little with the law over the past few years, leading to frustration for educators, parents, and administrators.
The core of the 2001 version of NCLB was standardized testing across the country. This testing was to measure student progress, proficiency, and teacher quality. If scores indicated a school system failed to make gains and reach benchmarks, that system was subject to severe sanctions. The whole point was to motivate schools to raise their standards over the next few years. As PhD commentators, online pundits, parents, and teachers have all opined, that approach has been less than successful.
In recent months, President Obama and several members of Congress are once again attempting to bring attention to this program. The President, while applauding the spirit of the original law, is suggesting a few changes to the No Child Left Behind program. Congressional lawmakers have come up with their own proposal to alter NCLB, incorporating many of the President’s suggestions.
So far, the proposed changes involve giving individual states more control over their own school systems. Washington will no longer be involved with the nuts and bolts of each individual school system, but will require the states to set high standards, track progress, and establish educational policy. Test results will still be important for school systems to receive federal education funds, but the states will have more control over the details of that testing. States will also be able to decide on their own the best methods for improving failing schools.
However, the federal government is still planning to remain deeply involved in the education of minority students and those who live in bottom-tier school districts. The lowest-performing five percent of schools will still be accountable to Washington, as well as the five percent of schools in each state that report the widest achievement gap between White and minority students.
Time is ticking, however, as 2014 is the deadline named in the old NCLB law for all states to demonstrate all students are proficient in math and reading. President Obama is hoping to allow states with school systems labeled as “failing†under the old law to receive waivers to bypass the 2014 deadline.
For parents and teachers, the changes will mean this: tests are still very important, but not as vital as they have been over the past decade. Unless a child is in a failing school or one with a large achievement gap, a parent’s ticket to school improvement will be with state representatives rather than Congressmen. For teachers, doing away with the more punitive federal requirements of NCLB will release them from some of the pressure to teach to the test. Additionally, Congress approved more federal funding of charter schools, so parents will end up with wider choice of schools for their children.
Many fear these changes will put education right back where it was prior to NCLB. At that time, the states were not accountable to Washington as to how federal dollars were spent. Some believe by granting waivers of educational requirements, schools that are not failing, but mediocre have no incentive to improve. On the other hand, there’s little room to argue NCLB’s current form has been effective in improving American education over the last decade.
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Nov 12
Guest Post: Reforming NCLB
November 12, 2011
This post was written by Elaine Hirsch.
In 2001 the Bush administration implemented the No Child Left Behind Act. This law aimed to overhaul the American education system by enacting strict guidelines and standards. In order to receive federal dollars, every school has been required to met proficiency benchmarks. This law was never intended to last for over ten years without any changes whatsoever. In fact, the assumption was that over the course of the next few years after its passage the law would be updated and its problems addressed. This periodic updating never happened. Congress has done very little with the law over the past few years, leading to frustration for educators, parents, and administrators.
The core of the 2001 version of NCLB was standardized testing across the country. This testing was to measure student progress, proficiency, and teacher quality. If scores indicated a school system failed to make gains and reach benchmarks, that system was subject to severe sanctions. The whole point was to motivate schools to raise their standards over the next few years. As PhD commentators, online pundits, parents, and teachers have all opined, that approach has been less than successful.
In recent months, President Obama and several members of Congress are once again attempting to bring attention to this program. The President, while applauding the spirit of the original law, is suggesting a few changes to the No Child Left Behind program. Congressional lawmakers have come up with their own proposal to alter NCLB, incorporating many of the President’s suggestions.
So far, the proposed changes involve giving individual states more control over their own school systems. Washington will no longer be involved with the nuts and bolts of each individual school system, but will require the states to set high standards, track progress, and establish educational policy. Test results will still be important for school systems to receive federal education funds, but the states will have more control over the details of that testing. States will also be able to decide on their own the best methods for improving failing schools.
However, the federal government is still planning to remain deeply involved in the education of minority students and those who live in bottom-tier school districts. The lowest-performing five percent of schools will still be accountable to Washington, as well as the five percent of schools in each state that report the widest achievement gap between White and minority students.
Time is ticking, however, as 2014 is the deadline named in the old NCLB law for all states to demonstrate all students are proficient in math and reading. President Obama is hoping to allow states with school systems labeled as “failing†under the old law to receive waivers to bypass the 2014 deadline.
For parents and teachers, the changes will mean this: tests are still very important, but not as vital as they have been over the past decade. Unless a child is in a failing school or one with a large achievement gap, a parent’s ticket to school improvement will be with state representatives rather than Congressmen. For teachers, doing away with the more punitive federal requirements of NCLB will release them from some of the pressure to teach to the test. Additionally, Congress approved more federal funding of charter schools, so parents will end up with wider choice of schools for their children.
Many fear these changes will put education right back where it was prior to NCLB. At that time, the states were not accountable to Washington as to how federal dollars were spent. Some believe by granting waivers of educational requirements, schools that are not failing, but mediocre have no incentive to improve. On the other hand, there’s little room to argue NCLB’s current form has been effective in improving American education over the last decade.