In fact, according to a study at the University of Missouri, they found that many students forgot over two and one-half months of whatever their grade-level equivalency is in mathematics. (Wilkenfield) Plus after the summer vacation, many teachers end up spending from four to six weeks of the next school year trying to review what had happened in the previous years, says David Payne, a former principal. Summer vacation is one of the only major times that parents are able to travel or take vacations, however, year-round schooling which allows small breaks throughout the seasons. Also, travel rates during the summer are usually higher than other times of the year. When students return to school after a summer break, there is often a long time period of adjustment.
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. My opinion of NCLB is it is flawed, developmentally inappropriate, ill funded, ←and→ leaving more students, teachers, ←and→ schools behind than ever before because The tests have turned into the objective of classroom instruction rather than the measure of teaching ←and→ learning.
As educators all over the country we are faced with having to embrace and implement technology into our schools and for teachers their lessons. We have students who are very skilled with technology and in order to keep they engage and involved in the lessons we have to incorporate technology into our lessons and move away from the lecture style of teaching and create more interactive lessons that will keep students motivated in the classrooms. Special needs students require more funding and services to provide them with the tools and materials that they need to be successful in school. The special education has really changed over the years because we now have districts moving from the out of district placements and now have more of the special education students in inclusion classrooms and of course we still have the resource rooms and the self contained classrooms. Many districts because of costs are not seeking out of district placements but instead are creating programs within the various school districts that mirror the out of district programs.
It appears that testing is a waste of time, but in reality, it prepares students for future success. Another question that occurs is: What are students gaining from these different tests each year? Many people debate whether the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is considered to be pointless. Maybe these tests are teaching students accountability and responsibility, two vital tools for success in life. Within in the article, “No Child Left Behind: Test-Obsessed Education Won’t Move Us Ahead” the author, David Marshak, slashes the No Child Left Behind Act.
Struggling Middle School Reader: Successful, Acceleration Intervention Rosemary Papalewis Leah Sykes-Rangel ED 385 Mrs. Melissa Mainiero Sept. 24, 2010 Many students repeat the 8th grade because their reading skills are not proficient enough for them to move on. In fact, Torgeson and Burgess both agree that one child in eight who show signs of reading difficulties at the end of their first grade year rarely obtain reading skills along their current level. Teachers more than often enough are to blame. However, outside forces such as a student not attending class regularly or financial burdens also play a role as well. Whatever the case may be, reading levels are quickly declining instead of accelerating.
Due to this significant drop in learning, students are often at different intellectual levels and teachers have to be creative in coming up with solutions to combat this. Teachers use multiple methods such as one-on-one teaching, peer tutoring, and starting the learning material quicker in the beginning of the school year (Von Lunen, 2011). Yet according to the article, the surest way to keep students’ skills sharp is to keep them in school as much as possible (Von Lunen, 2011). Many schools are looking into schedules that model year-round schooling. Information of Interest Through my years of schooling, I have always noticed how difficult it was to retain information from one year to the next.
The recurring intervals between school sessions are perfect for either educational remediation or enrichment, depending on the student. Thousands of students sit in classes each day that do not fit their needs. The classes are either extremely difficult, and their grades suffer, or they are a breeze, an A requiring minimum effort. Whichever the case, school isn’t doing anything for them. Many times, unfortunately, this situation lasts for the entire 180-day school year.
These are the reasons why I do not agree with adding more hours in school. Some adults think that adding more school hours is bad. They think that it takes away time from family. Also, making school hours longer are too tiring for the kids. Still, nobody is sure if longer hours at school will result in better grades.
To receive funds the states and schools have to give assessments to students in certain grade levels (No Child Left Behind Act). These funding changes give better flexibility with how budgets are spent in schools. Now with the economy falling, school funding is not what it used to be. Congress is now trying to cut 70 percent of educational programs including the all fine arts programs(11ME). Schools have to choose what they fund and how they are going to spend the money they are given.
(Project RED, 2010) The real issue is that some schools/ district restrict students from using technology in school to support their education. It is stated that schools have difficulty keeping up with new technology so they are either behind and have a hard time catching up or they just do not update their technology restricting students from necessary resources. (Education Weekly, 2011) Some forms of learning that students found benefitting them at home as well as in school involving technology is online learning. Some surveys and research has been done that proves that online learning or blending learning elaborates students’ learning and develops their skill. Along with e-learning falls a category called social networking which has increasingly caught the attention of a lot of school board officials.