by Penocchio

Created on: June 18, 2008

Notice: I am currently a senior in an East Tennessee high school, so please note that this was written from the perspective of a CURRENT student, who has to face the No Child Left Behind Act on a daily basis.

With President George W. Bush's statement, "As [Sep. 26, 2007]'s positive report card shows, childrens [sic] do learn when standards are high and results are measured," at P.S. 76 in New York during a press conference, he shows that his No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110) is only counterproductive to its purpose. The NCLB act has reauthorized a number of federal programs that supposedly aim to improve the performance of U.S. primary and secondary schools. They do this by increasing the standards of accountability for states, school districts, and schools. Parents are also given more flexibility in choosing which schools their children will attend. The NCLB act uses the theories of standards-based education reform, which is based on the laughable belief that high expectations and setting of goals will result in success for all students. One of the NCLB act's major fallacies is that it places all blame for low test scores on teachers rather than students who do not care for school in the first place or are not in the same developmental capacity as the rest of the students in the grade. Another problem of the No Child Left Behind Act is the "scientifically based research" it uses is exceedingly inconsistent; not all state tests are the same, and teachers will "teach to the test." The act also does not give incentive for low-performing and high-performing students. The NCLB act is in need of heavy reform and overhauling or it should be completely removed from use.

One of the primary stumbling blocks of the No Child Left Behind Act is that, no matter how qualified a teacher may be, some students will not care enough about school to perform at their maximum capabilities, and others may not be able to perform at the level for their age. Home life and mental capabilities are not taken into account in the act; not all students are the same intellectually. Teachers can not force a student into caring about school and his or her future, and the teachers should not be held accountable for this. The requirement for "one high, challenging standard" cannot fit to students who are simply unable to perform at the level for their age, no matter how good the teacher is. The standards set by the NCLB act impose a "one size fits all" standard on individual

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>