5. No Child Left Behind Accountability Flexibility at state and local levels More options for disabled students Reading Improvement Stronger Teachers Confirming School Improvement English Proficiency
11. Conclusion Good ideas behind original act Trial and Error New administration should show approval
12. Sources All Images taken from Flickr.com Capital Builing-Panther1619 Classroom-Lizmarie George Bush-Image Editor Barack Obama-egadapparel School Bus-Woodleywonderworks Text "Archived: Fact Sheet on No Child Left Behidn." Ed.gov. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/factsheet.html>. "Overhauling No Child Left Behind." Overhauling No Child Left Behind. 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/15/opinion/la-ed-nclb16-2010mar16>. Weinstein, Anna. "Obama on No Child Left Behind." Education.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Obama_Child_Left_Behind/>. White, Deborah. "Pros and Cons of the No Child Left Behind Act." About.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://usliberals.about.com/od/education/i/NCLBProsCons.htm>.
Hinweis der Redaktion
The No Child Behind Act was enacted in 2001 under George Bush and now that Barack Obama has taken office there are many changes that are being proposed to the act. Reasons behind the changes are because of the many pro’s and con’s that have resulted since the act was passed.
The leading domestic policy the Bush administration was focused around education. The no child left behind act was a revision of the elementary and secondary education act and focused on many major issues.
This act that the bush administration proposed was one of the few that saw smooth sailing to its approval during the president’s eight years in office. Senator Ted Kennedy, a sponsor of the bill was one of its main supporters and saw it to its approval in congress.
The act focused on several parts of education. First off, schools will be held much more accountable for test results they produce than in the past. Local and state level funds that are received from federal funds can now be transferred without separate approval. Both disabled students and their parents will see more options for their students to prosper and feel equal in schools, such as tutoring and having the option of school of choice. More money will be put towards reading improvement. Teachers will be evaluated and by 2005 every classroom must have a qualified educator in it. Tests in fourth and eigth grade will show if the schools are improving and if test scores do not rise schools may be put on a sort of “academic probation” which could result in losing funds. Finally, to make all the above objectives easier, english is to be promoted and learned as quickly as possible by esl students.
Without a doubt, the original NCLB act affected the classroom in many ways. Some way were a direct affect on students, while others only teachers and administrators saw.
Students said they felt more challenged to succeed in school, roughly 90% of classrooms had qualified teachers in them, and disabled students saw many more advantages
Almost all teachers unions are against the act because they claim it emphasizes standardized testing and not actual material. The unions also argued that test scores did not rise to show improvement and the dropout rate showed no decrease.
With the recent Obama administration change, many changes have been proposed to the act.
The obama administration is aiming to have a zero dropout rate by 2020 with the new changes to NCLB. Funding bonuses are being considered for the top 10% of schools in the country, while the lowest 5% could have a staff-wide firing if they can not improve. Finally one of the biggest issues of NCLB, which focuses on testing is going to be changed so that there is a smaller reliance on standardized tests.
In conclusion, the act when it was passed showed many promising ideas. After its run though, teachers unions found many errors with the act, although there were a few successes. However, with the Obama administration now running the show and changing the act, it is hoped that once it is revised and put into place, it will fix everything it originally intended to fix with our nation’s education systems.
