2008 Woodie Awards
No child left behind: Realistic or impossible?
Bruce Twilla
Issue date: 9/30/04 Section: Feature
- Page 1 of 1
The cornerstone of President George W. Bush's administration, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, is a 1,000 page law that will strengthen Title 1 accountability by requiring states to implement statewide accountability systems covering all public school systems and students, according to an executive summary. It puts a stronger emphasis on reading, writing and math above all else, as an attempt to strengthen overall education. But are the standards that this law require realistic?
USA Today points out that only 12 states are on track to comply with even half of the major federal requirements, and although states have a few years to meet some of the requirements, many were already due. In the first look at how all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) are grappling with the complexities of this law, the Education Commission of the States found that many have a long way to go.
This is frustrating school officials because the measurement of progress is limited to tests, more tests and even more tests. In result, it limits lesson plans, and even subjects. Many students are motivated to attend class by elective programs, such as theatre and sports. But what happens if those electives are omitted because of the NCLB Act? "Dropout percentages would be more likely to increase," says Kathy Green, Principal of Metro High School, one of the many schools in Iowa that are on the watch list.
Even if test scores improve throughout Iowa, the requirements of the Bush plan could categorize more than half of Iowa public schools as 'failing' due to the percent of subgroups who don't speak English. Right now, these students are given a one-year grace period to learn English before they're tested. "One year is not enough," say teachers in Coachella Valley Unified School District, "They need at least seven."
Failure to meet the requirements of the Bush plan could result in loss of federal funding and/or a state takeover, if the school is on the watch list for 3 or more years.
"If most schools are on the watch list, does that mean that they're doing a bad job?" asks Green. "The state of Iowa has been using the ITED (Iowa Tests of Educational Development) as their assessment. This test is a norm-referenced test instead of criteria-referenced."
"Yes, this plan has benefited in increasing awareness about the subgroups who aren't succeeding, but maybe they could expand the measurement of AYP (Academic Yearly Progress) to determine specifically the problems individuals face with learning. True - reading, writing and math are necessity but we shouldn't put all of our focus on these three subjects. We need to keep motivation in mind, or the outcome could be worse than before," she added.
Many school districts are arguing, protesting and even suing the federal government over this issue. "We need to take a closer look at how we assess student learning to support every child's success," Green concluded.
USA Today points out that only 12 states are on track to comply with even half of the major federal requirements, and although states have a few years to meet some of the requirements, many were already due. In the first look at how all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) are grappling with the complexities of this law, the Education Commission of the States found that many have a long way to go.
This is frustrating school officials because the measurement of progress is limited to tests, more tests and even more tests. In result, it limits lesson plans, and even subjects. Many students are motivated to attend class by elective programs, such as theatre and sports. But what happens if those electives are omitted because of the NCLB Act? "Dropout percentages would be more likely to increase," says Kathy Green, Principal of Metro High School, one of the many schools in Iowa that are on the watch list.
Even if test scores improve throughout Iowa, the requirements of the Bush plan could categorize more than half of Iowa public schools as 'failing' due to the percent of subgroups who don't speak English. Right now, these students are given a one-year grace period to learn English before they're tested. "One year is not enough," say teachers in Coachella Valley Unified School District, "They need at least seven."
Failure to meet the requirements of the Bush plan could result in loss of federal funding and/or a state takeover, if the school is on the watch list for 3 or more years.
"If most schools are on the watch list, does that mean that they're doing a bad job?" asks Green. "The state of Iowa has been using the ITED (Iowa Tests of Educational Development) as their assessment. This test is a norm-referenced test instead of criteria-referenced."
"Yes, this plan has benefited in increasing awareness about the subgroups who aren't succeeding, but maybe they could expand the measurement of AYP (Academic Yearly Progress) to determine specifically the problems individuals face with learning. True - reading, writing and math are necessity but we shouldn't put all of our focus on these three subjects. We need to keep motivation in mind, or the outcome could be worse than before," she added.
Many school districts are arguing, protesting and even suing the federal government over this issue. "We need to take a closer look at how we assess student learning to support every child's success," Green concluded.