What is wrong with no child left behind?

Question

Only serious answer only please, no Bush-bashing.

Very interesting insights.
Are there any suggestions out there for what we can do to teach our kids to read, write, and do math. These skills are absolutely vital in increasing the productivity of our workforce, which goes further than any other means to help reduce poverty.

Answer 1

On issue is that the govermnent requires more testing, higher standards, and penalties against low performing schools, but not enough money to actually make any meaningful changes in the schools. It's more focused on punishing poor performance than coming up with ways to actually improve anything.

Answer 2

As a former teacher who worked in the public schools in the inner city as well as a Republican and a supporter, it still leaves children behind. I applaud the President for trying to do something about this, but who's on the committee or whatever to create these things? People who have doctorates who haven't been teaching for 30 years?

I taught third grade and we had some kind of test to take for which we were supposed to prepare the class. I tried while breaking up fights and serving breakfast and trying to squash the roaches that lived in our classroom, but these kids can barely read and write! How are they going to pass these tests that are way over their heads?

Many of these kids have some kind of learning disability for which they, by law, should be receiving services. Either there isn't enough money for all of them, the services are poor, the parents couldn't care less, or it's politically incorrect and bad PR for all of the kids who need it to get it and get services good enough and long enough to help. The red tape that a teacher has to go through just to get a kid tested usually results in nothing but the teacher getting chastised for suggesting it in the first place.

Additionally, many of these kids have emotional problems that there are even less services for. Generally, these kids should be in classrooms of no more than 15 and have a competent aide, yet I've had classes of 30 with no help. And the people assigned to help, don't bother. Too many times, it was like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and I was an outsider put in charge of a ward without any training or aides! And these kids are supposed to be able to pass these tests EVEN when you teach to the test, which is a problem suburban schools have.

I have been told by at least one principal to "do whatever we had to do to make sure our students did well on the tests." Of course, that means cheat. Some teachers actually went through the tests erasing ridiculous answers and writing in more sensible things. I would have had to do that to every single answer of 30 tests! I'm not that creative! I had one kid, after explaining and demonstrating extensively how to fill in the circles and what not to do, who put an "x" over each circle instead! Moreover, you can't tell me that regional directors don't know this kind of thing isn't happening, yet they seem to be oblivious or they turn a blind eye to it.

I am in no way saying that these kids are stupid in the inner city! No one could live in those areas and not be savvy enough to survive. THAT is intelligence! Yet they don't receive even a small portion of the assistance they need to be on par with their suburban counterparts, let alone to overtake them. (I guess you can figure out why I am a "former teacher in the inner city.")

Answer 3

It lowers the standards actually. What ends up happening in practice is that teachers and school systems are teaching to meet the minimums of proficiency tests. They make sure the dumbest kids get up to speed. Unfortunately, that does nothing to challenge the minds and inspire the kids who aren't on the bottom of the bell curve.
It's a sad fact that most won't acknowledge; but some people are dumber than others. And the world needs ditch diggers, too.

Answer 4

It promotes children even if they haven't met the requirements for promotion, which just puts them further behind their fellow students than they were. Essentially all it does is keep classes based on age rather than the child's academic level. The only thing I can see coming from this program is more illiterate people graduating high school.

Answer 5

All No Child Left Behind does is dumb down the cirriculum so that the slowest students can pass. As a result the harder working kids don't learn at the level they could. Just another example of ppolitical correctness gone too far, they dont want the dumb kids to get their feelings hurt.

Answer 6

I don't agree with it because it actually does leave children behind. The way it works is if a school doesn't get good enough test scores, the government cuts it's funding. Rather then try to figure out ways to improve the school, it punishes it. I don't feel this is best for out education system.

Answer 7

According to one friend of mine who's a teacher: Money is now directed to ensure that the kids who need the most help (i.e. the stupidest in most cases), so there is no longer money to help the brightest ones. So- it brings down the whole class average by tweaking the system to the lowest level. A policy that would formerly be considered something the Democrats would do.

Answer 8

What is wrong? It is unrealistic and impossible to implement. Sure, we at the surface level can say we want to make sure we want to 'educate' all of our children... what rational person doesn't want to try to help a child. Yet, it is too simplistic and doesn't take many of the educational and societal complications into account.

Answer 9

Instead of teaching children to think, it teaches them to memorize someone else's answers so they can pass a test.

Answer 10

Children are being left behind.