As an educator, how does the “No Child Left Behind Act” impacting your job in the classroom?

Answer 1

There are many problems with No Child Left Behind. The biggest problem I see is that it assumes all students can and will succeed at the same level. Students are different, but No Child Left Behind fails to recognize those differences. The act also over-values math and English (I say this as a math teacher) and under-values many fields of knowledge that may be more useful in actual life. It requires schools to spend an inordinate amount of time and resources on "accountability", which gives them less time and resources to spend on actual education. I know of no one who actually spends time in the classroom who has anything at all good to say about No Child Left Behind.

Answer 2

NCLB is like Communism- it only looks good on paper. It's a very nice idea to think about, but it just doesn't work well in the real world. Some kids will slip through the cracks, often because they want to or at least don't care one way or another. Most teachers always to their best to reach every child regardless of NCLB. All of this high-stakes testing is getting out of hand also. Last year I had 2 of my 16 fourth graders break down during a state standarized test. It's ridiculous. We're breaking the spirits of little kids! It almost made me cry last year. People who make the laws need to be a little closer to those who have to implement them.

Answer 3

OMG don't get me started.

The thing about NCLB that gets me is the accountability part. Teachers are 100% responsible for pass/fail, even though some kids are just unmotivated and do not care. All failures hurt you, even though some kids don't come to school at all.

Also, we are supposed to have more funds and the ability to use them where we want/need to, but SO MUCH has been cut out, and only the select few actually have access to these funds...

And AYP stinks...