Bush Proposes Broadening the No Child Left Behind Act
01/25/07 10:57 PM Filed in: No Child Left
Behind
I am still riding the fence on the No Child Left
Behind law. I am beginning to understand the desire
to make sure that each student is able to perform
at certain level. But this law does not take into
account the fact that each student has different
skill levels and abilities. And it also assumes
that all students should perform equally well when
tested in the same way. However, the bigger issues
here is that schools are failing these standards.
Are these standards too high? Are teachers and
schools inadequately prepared to teach the
material? Are the standardized tests flawed?
In the article "Bush Proposes Broadening the No Child Left Behind Act" by Diana Jean Schemo makes an interesting point. She says, "In 26 states, including New York, there are limits on how many charter schools can be opened. Critics point to a lack of consistent research showing charter schools are any more effective than traditional public schools in raising achievement." President Bush has pushed for the option of failing schools to open charter schools for five years now and still has gotten nowhere near passing it through Congress. If opening a charter school is going to be the primary alternative for failing schools, I think that more research should be conducted to verify the effectiveness of this solution.
In the end, I am left wondering if President Bush (and his supporters) have realized that the goals they had set in the NCLB law are simply too much, too fast, too early. And this "broadening of the law" is essentially relaxing the requirements making it easier for the government to say "we have students who are meeting or surpassing standards." Should the goal of education be to make sure that each student has the same skill set and knowledge base?
Source:
Scheme, Diana (2007, January 25). Bush proposes broadening the no child left behind act. The New York Times, Retrieved January 25, 2007, from http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C14FA3D5B0C768EDDA80894DF404482
In the article "Bush Proposes Broadening the No Child Left Behind Act" by Diana Jean Schemo makes an interesting point. She says, "In 26 states, including New York, there are limits on how many charter schools can be opened. Critics point to a lack of consistent research showing charter schools are any more effective than traditional public schools in raising achievement." President Bush has pushed for the option of failing schools to open charter schools for five years now and still has gotten nowhere near passing it through Congress. If opening a charter school is going to be the primary alternative for failing schools, I think that more research should be conducted to verify the effectiveness of this solution.
In the end, I am left wondering if President Bush (and his supporters) have realized that the goals they had set in the NCLB law are simply too much, too fast, too early. And this "broadening of the law" is essentially relaxing the requirements making it easier for the government to say "we have students who are meeting or surpassing standards." Should the goal of education be to make sure that each student has the same skill set and knowledge base?
Source:
Scheme, Diana (2007, January 25). Bush proposes broadening the no child left behind act. The New York Times, Retrieved January 25, 2007, from http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C14FA3D5B0C768EDDA80894DF404482
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