From the article: Pros & Cons of the No Child Left Behind Act
Should "No Child Left Behind" be junked, or is it salvageable to continue to guide U.S. public education? Why? Share Your Thoughts
Keep It
- They just need to fix the kinks...it's only been in effect since 2002, nothing can be perfect right away.
- —Guest Stephanie
how long is long enough?
- How long will it take the powers that be to understand that NCLB simply does not work, or could it be that "no child left behind" is considered a success because no child is permitted to get ahead? At this rate, how long will it be before colleges will be taking in students who may be able to function at a middle school level, just to fill seats and keep tuitions coming in? How can we hope to compete globally if our future, our children, are continuously held back and under-taught? I choose to educate in order to attempt to truly teach some of my future students to think, and isn't that truly the goal of education?
- —Guest another future educator
Nice try but not well followed out
- NCLB was a nice thought, but just was not followed out as well as it could have been. I have a niece in the 6th grade who can pass these standardized tests, but who cannot read. I myself am in high school and can notice that teachers with standardized test to pass no longer are able to teach as proficiently as a class with no standardized test. Teachers are forced now to teach their students to pass, not learn.
- —Guest Spencer
Please Leave the White House Behind
- Can we rename it Operation T.H.I.N.K.? Dont know about acronyms, but the novel concept is there....
- —Guest Ratchell
failure
- It's so stupid, Oh wait, Bush made NCLB with his staff who didn't know anything about how school systems work. They never asked teachers about school, and they still don't know what it is. It's bureaucracy. Go figure.
- —Guest jerry
no child left behind act
- I think if it isn't going to be there for all children, disabled or not, then it should be junked.
- —Guest alliecat
TRASH IT!
- Although the act is NO Child LEFT BEHIND, many are being left behind if they don't pass the standardized tests. I think these tests should be used as placement for the following school year, not HOLD the child back. This act is HYPOCRITICAL!!!
- —Guest future educator
NCLB has left kids behind
- NCLB as a whole is a joke. Anytime a review or performance record is metric based, in this case test scores, people will do what's needed to satisfy a number to retain job security. Teachers shouldn’t be held accountable when outside factors impact their performance. I work with young people and it is sad to see what America deems as "Proficient."
- —Guest Greg
Time to change it
- "No child left behind" was intended to help the students to all have at least almost the same information given to them. But when all a school does it teach to the test, where is the learning in that? Most teachers dont teach anything that the students are not going to get tested on, so the average student doesnt get a well rounded education... and these students are our future. So now we need to either get rid of it or change it. It is that simple: we need an educated future.
- —Guest matty
junk it
- My child doesnt seem to be retaining what she learned. I have to basically reteach her everything that she does for homework. She had a horrible year last year but managed to pass her standarized tests, and they wont let me make her repeat because of her test scores. The whole year is basically meaningless. Everything is based on standardized tests. That's junk
- —Guest marcus
Education and Unions
- President Obama says we need better teaching of science and math. I am a certified, experienced teacher of science and math, but I cannot get a teaching job because I am over-qualified, with too many degrees and too much experience. By the union scale, the school would have to pay me about twice what a recent college graduate would get, and I cannot negotiate a lower salary.
- —Guest esbuck
Junk No Child Left Behind
- "No Child Left Behind" was a good idea that was corrupted by the Education System. Instead of teaching the basics, schools have been teaching how to make the highest scores on the tests, so they can get the most funding from the State and Federal Government. This has caused the dumbing-down of the American Education System. It's time to either fix it or throw it out.
- —lbusby
