"No Child Left Behind: Test-Obsessed Education Won't Move Us Ahead

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Sydney Scott Mrs. Angela Lockhart English 100 9/23/2012 Refutation of “No Child Left Behind: Test-Obsessed Education Won’t Move Us Ahead Is standardized testing the key to a student’s success in education? This seems to be a common question asked by parents, students, and teachers. Education is a key part of life even though it has certain requirements that must be met, such as testing skills. Standardized testing is a common educational tool in today’s society. 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. He supports his claim with various political views, opinions, and studies. He clearly states that NCLB will not change anything for better or worse in the United States. Although he has plenty of support for his claim, many people disagree. According to Marshak, relationships and personalization are far more important in a child’s life than academics. This may be true, however, the NCLB was formed to help improve all three of these areas as well as make a student’s life more successful. The first identifiable fallacy in this article is a post hoc. This is an assumption that one event causes another although there is no clear connection. Since “50 to 70 percent of students pass through their high-school years without developing a single important relationship with an adult in their school” this causes them to be “disconnected and alienated from

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