No Child Left Behind Act

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The No Child Left Behind Act is, in theory, a positive step towards restructuring our educational system in order to raise test scores across the country, but in reality, the goals from the act are set unrealistically too high and make it too difficult for our schools to improve in learning. The No Child Left Behind Act is a U.S. federal law that was originally proposed by former president George W. Bush in 2001 and was signed to law in 2002. The legislation funds a large number of federal programs that aim to improve the performance of schools across the country by increasing the accountability of states, school districts, teachers, and students. It also provides an increased focus on mathematics and reading. The overall goal of No Child…show more content…
In the US we have taken progressive steps and set goals to eliminate gender, race, and economic gaps as much as possible, but I find No Child Left Behind contradictory to the goal. Statistically (Krieg, 2011) schools that have a majority of low-income and minority students tend to score much lower on standardized tests. The government receives these scores and makes them public and unintentionally punishes these low-performing schools by shining an unforgiving spotlight on…show more content…
If the educational system in America is going to undergo such a dramatic change, we need to find a way that encourages creativity, while at the same time teaches students the necessary skills in order to be successful in life after school. The reality is that No Child Left Behind needs a major face-lift. The goals set forth are good ideas to enhance education, but that’s just what they were, ideas. We have recently seen these ideas studied and scrutinized by many, but they have also done what they were set forth to do: raise test scores. Like I said before, test scores are not what education is about, education is about learning and grasping a subject. The government is placing an emphasis on test scores when in actuality they should be focusing on learning. I feel that for education to thrive the government needs to be less critical about test scores and place more significance in creativity and originality in the classroom. It doesn’t mean abandoning these tests; it just means that we should not place so much weight on these tests. I feel like the performance on one test should not dictate whether you do or do not advance a grade. The act also places too much stress on the teachers. If their students do not meet the standard set forth, they risk losing their career. The job of a teacher is to teach and help students learn, not pass a test. Eliminating
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