What Is the No Child Left Behind Act?
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is legislation that was enacted by the Bush Administration during his first term as President in 2001. It was passed in an effort to increase federal funding for education reform and to increase accountability at all levels.
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Significance
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The NCLB legislation was important in that it was an early bi-partisan success with Congressmen, with Senators from both political parties contributing to its authorship. The NCLB also created new programs that are still in place today, like the Reading First Initiative, which has changed the way many low-income school districts teach and assess students in grades K-3.
Time Frame
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The main provisions of this legislation stipulate that schools will be classified as successful by 2014. Critics of NCLB take issue with the 13-year time frame. Research by the National Reading Panel conducted in 2008 indicated conflicting results, and success cannot be assured for the year 2014.
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Features
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Among the provisions of this act, the main ones are school accountability from teachers, administrators and districts; improved performance on standardized tests; and accommodations for special education students to become successful students in the regular classroom.
Criticisms
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The main criticisms of NCLB concern uniformity of its application across the country. NCLB set forth a certain criteria to be met, but allowed the states to determine how they would accomplish it. Therefore, each state handles assessment and accountability differently. This makes it hard to show success or failure of the programs. Supporters and critics alike can cite research that supports their opinion.
Teaching to the Test
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Teaching to the test is the number one criticism by teachers and administrators. There is so much pressure on schools to achieve acceptable performance levels that test-taking has become a subject in itself. Everything academic revolves around the year-end state testing to the point that other subjects are usually neglected. Reading, math and writing are the main thrusts of schools, and are obviously important. However, critics state that children are not receiving well-rounded educations because of the emphasis on these subjects only.
Final Considerations
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The jury is still out on NCLB.The administration of President Obama has decided to continue the current NCLB with few changes. Money from the Recovery Act that will be injected into schools and districts across the country to help maintain gains already made and to keep the momentum going in an economic downturn.
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