How to Determine If No Child Left Behind Is Working

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a federal law aimed at improving the performance of students in all primary and secondary schools. This act focuses more on accountability of the schools and districts, and allowing parents more choices when choosing schools. Many critics of NCLB argue that it is simply contributing to the "dumbing down" of America's youth, while supporters claim it makes a level playing field by utilizing standardized testing and incentives to well performing schools and districts. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Decide if the quality of teachers in your area has improved since the enactment of NCLB. A major component to No Child Left Behind is that the quality of teachers should improve based on set standards for each education level taught. Although many supporters claim teachers are more qualified now than they were in the past, opponents argue that the standards for teachers are the same as they've always been.
2. Question if the children in your district are getting smarter or if the tests are made easier to continue funding. School districts must meet minimum benchmarks or face financial consequences, which many argue is the perfect excuse to lower the standards. Look at proficiency rates before NCLB and after to determine if the standards have improved and students are in fact getting smarter--or if the standards have been lowered for the sake of government funding.
3. Find out if schools in your district have eliminated or decreased the availability of honors or advanced placement classes. Evidence has recently surfaced indicating this has been on the rise as schools focus more on guaranteeing that students meet the minimum requirements than to make sure each student's education matches their abilities. The pressure to make all students meet minimum requirements means that funds normally allocated for gifted and advanced placement classes are used to give each student the minimum education required by law.
4. Research student proficiency levels in your district for subjects other than math and reading. The No Child Left Behind Act places incredible importance on reading and math scores and virtually ignore all other areas of study. As the NCLB focuses primarily on math and reading, so too are school districts hoping for continued or increased financial rewards. A major concern for NCLB opponents is that subjects like science and physical education are often cut or decreased to accommodate more math and reading courses.
5. Question if the No Child Left Behind Act is intended to improve the education received by America's children. NCLB forces school districts to focus only on the bare minimum requirements for all students in math and reading only. According to the NCLB, success is defined by all students meeting a predetermined level of proficiency but the students' ability to do that directly affects that districts' funding.
6. Weigh the risk with the cost. Technically, No Child Left Behind is voluntary; states don't have to meet minimum requirements if they choose not to receive federal funding. That begs the question, "is lowering our standards and dumbing down our children worth federal funding?" Although it isn't quite this simple, it is the only choice states that rely heavily on federal funding have.

Tips & Warnings

• NCLB allows parents to remove children from low performing schools and transfer to higher performing schools.
• NCLB is intended to close the gap between minority and white students' test scores.
• NCLB encourages mediocrity of school children.

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