The education of America youth has always been an important topic of discussion at both the state and federal levels. Throughout the past decade many different forms of legislation have been passed to improve the education of student in all grades. Title I and Goals 2000 and the Educate America Act of 1990 are some example of the governments attempt to improve the educational system. The latest attempt of educational reform was signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002. According to Essex (2008) No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is considered to be the most comprehensive legislation of education reform since the Elementary and Secondary School act was passed in 1965. This acts major goal is to narrow the achievement gap between minority and disadvantage students and their peers. The act is aimed at all students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Increasing the accountability of schools, teachers, and students is one of the main principles of NCLB. Which I believe the educational system in the United States truly needs. For years teachers have been given a list of topics to teach, but there has been no accountability. Children across the country and even in different classrooms in the same school have received an education that differs a great deal. Teachers have not been held accountable to teach to standards and to teach students to mastery. Many teachers graduated from college with the passion to teach all students and make them all succeed, yet over the years these teachers start to teach the same thing over-and-over and the loss their ability to cause change and create true learning environments. I believe No Child Left Behind and its requirements are vital to the success of the children in this country
7 comments:
Cal,
I enjoyed your blog, but I have some mixed feelings about it. First, I do agree with you that teachers do tend to stick with what they know and do not switch their content as the years go by. They have the feeling that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. This doesn’t always work with the children since every group is so distinct. Therefore, the same lessons will not always apply. This is one reason, I believe, teachers should not stay in one particular grade level for a long period of time (more than 6 or so years). A change will create a change for the teachers and a change for the students. Keeping everyone fresh is the key to success.
I have to say I do not agree with your thoughts in regards to NCLB and teacher accountability. State testing is used in such an improper manner. Any particular test should only be used to measure one particular thing, something we are learning as we complete our dissertations. You cannot use one test to imply various things. This is where the improper handling of the test takes place. It is used to measure school success, teacher success, student achievement, etc. It cannot measure all of these things. If it is geared towards student learning, then that is one thing. However, the tests are so vague that they do not tell us what is failing the teacher, the student, the administration, a culmination of all, etc. Therefore, state and federal officials can not use the results as they see fit. Most teachers work as hard as they can. However, the job title for “teacher” has changed dramatically over the years. Yet, we are still held accountable for success when at the same time we have to be a leader, role model, parent, therapist, friend, disciplinarian, teacher, etc. The list goes on and on. In addition, the curriculum for students is not what it used to be. Students must learn technology, their content areas, their special areas, service learning, and participate in outside activities. Yet, the curriculum is constantly added to by state and federal officials. Where do we draw the line? I think it is unfair to say the teachers aren’t held accountable when they are the ones that are usually in the trenches with the kids. I can say from experience, I worked very hard with my students last year on the curriculum, studying for the test, as well as preparing them overall. Yet, when the day of the test came, several students were not focused, rushed, focused on the end of the test, or simply did not read directions. The essay required the students to write a letter. Many students did not follow directions and simply wrote and essay. They were marked down. This is not a reflection of me but rather the fact that they did not read the directions. The test results are extremely misleading, especially when you have political leaders reading them without any experience in stats or what the stats represent. Teacher accountability is not the answer. However, it is the answer most used, because it is the easiest answer to choose.
Jenn
Cal,
No Child Left Behind has brought about many positive changes in spite of its controversial nature. For these positive changes, I for one support NCLB.
1. It has forced schools to seek and find highly qualified teachers for all students. It took away the conveinence of schools being willing to settle for less and it made the educational system address the need for alternative certifications in order to fill shortages.
2. It has forced schools to seriously look at the least restrictive environment for their special ed. students. Schools no longer can afford to tuck their sp.ed. kids away in seperate classes where they do not receive grade level instruction.It has also taken away the loophole of sp.ed. kids being exempt from annual testing. These kids now count in the annual testing scores and as such have gotten the attention of the school system to deliver instruction and intervention that will help these students close the achievement gap.
Although much of the requirements of NCLB are harsh and in some aspects even unattainable, it would not have achieved the attention of school administrators if it did not have such stringent requirements. Any leniency or loopholes would have been pounced upon and used to justify "business as usual" if it had been allowed.
In the future, there will probably be a shift to more leniency, but hopefuly by then the reform will have taken root and the premise of Leave No Child Behind will be embraced.
Donna
While I support your comments on NCLB shifting educators to taking more responsibility for their children, I do have ill feelings about the state testing that takes place and ALL students are responsible for passing the tests. I do believe that all children have the capacity to learn, but the quest of all children reading on grade level by 2014?
Teachers, now more than ever, are leaving the education field because of the micromanaging that occurs. They are not able to show their true abilities and talents because they must wait on an answer from somewhere else to make decisions about their students. They are swamped with paperwork to prove that they are teaching. I think that the teachers work REALLY hard and administrators need to look at where the student started and where they ended that year. This is really a pet peeve of mine!!
Appolo,
I agree in regards to teachers leaving the profession. There is no support from parents and no support from the administration. We are hit from ALL angles. Teachers are not allowed to teach. We are questioned, called names, and treated as though we should bow down to anyone that graces us with their presence. We are not treated like educated individuals, but rather someone's punching bag. I was once told by a friend to simply hand out a's no matter what the child did, because this way life would be easier. I get paid the same amount whether they pass or fail. However, if they pass, it is a lot less grief. Unfortunately, I care too much to just give up on my kids even though everyone else treats us as though we are worthless.
We do not know what to do at this point. I have never felt so abused like I do this year. I wonder if it is the pressure of NCLB coming down on the school that creates such turmoil amongst all.
It is extremely disheartening.
Cal,
Your views are exactly my views with the NCLB law. Teachers that began their career wanting to see all eyes of their students light up with the excitement of learning are slowly becomming the norm and doing less. Today schools focus more on teaching to a test than helping students become life long learners. Today teachers are more concerned with putting on a show for their professional evaluations and then reverting back to their old actions after that date has passed. Principals are busy keeping the general public happy and increasing scores rather than being concerned that teachers are burned out, over stressed, and are using textbooks as the main teaching tool except on the day of an observation/evaluation. State to state, curriculums differ. If a student transfers out of state to another school, that student can either experience overload of being behind or joy of being ahead of their peers. Why can't all states agree on a universal curriculum with universal expectations? When will NCLB see that with all its intent and heart, the plan to bridge the gap in achievement is getting wider as states are moving more to teaching test items and not teaching students to be productive except on a state mandated test. Teachers are getting tired of the politics in the schools and leaving the profession for other postions only to have younger and less experienced persons enter the classroom and the cycle repeats again. This system of education needs an overhaul with all persons understanding that if we don't stop worrying about a score and start teaching a skill, students that leave high school will only be productive as rote producing employees with limited experience in applying critical skills and problem solving abilities. Then what law will be necessary?
Ivyspecial (Janis)
I agree with your thoughts regarding accountability in education. I have been an educator for more than 20 years and I remember the days when teachers were left to decide what they would teach, how long they would teach it, etc. While many educators followed what district guidelines required, many districts did not have clear guidelines and without any sort of accountability, many teachers closed their doors and proceeded to teach what they wanted. While the system is far from perfect, I have witnessed firsthand the positive impact that accountability has given to our children.
Cal,
Your blog was interesting. It is bekieved that children have been exposed to alot of rechnology. However, the students of today is very different from the students of even five years ago. Yes, we have to teach our children, but are we doing that. Most of us have pressure on us to have a high SOL score, while the child actually only knows chunks of what was taught. Our children deserve more. In order for them to learn, everyone must play a role in the learning process. As educators, we must present the lesson that all students can acquire the information. In essence, the students must generalize and apply the information then the learning takes place. Learning is not recallung information, but applying the information to new situations and have positive results. When we have accomplished this then students will or should not have test anxiety. We teach, they digest, and we learn.
Mildred Calhoun
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