No child left behind = No child goes on ahead?

Question

Why are the United States educacational scores continuing
to fall in comparison to other industrialized nations?

Answer 1

There are dozens of reasons, here are some of the big ones:

- Parents don't get involved enough. The number one indicator for success in school is parental involvement, however, too many parents are letting schools raise their kids for them.

- No competetion between schools to obtain and keep students. Public education is a monopoly. No where on the planet, at any time during recorded history has a monopoly made a better service than can be had in an open market. Allow vouchers and school choice, and you will see monumental gains. Screw the teacher's union, they have zero interest in educating the kids, only in maintaining the appalling status quo.

- Schools are focusing too much on disciplinary problems, and running away from law suits. If teacher A has to spend 80% of the time addressing the misbehavior of student B, how much does that affect the rest of the class?

- NCLB forces schools to teach to a standardized test rather than focusing on learning the material.

Answer 2

No one really knows for sure.

Some say the problem started with the ending of discipline (swatting).

Some say the problem started with technology getting above the head of the system and teachers.

Some say the problem started with bilingual schools and trying to integrate massive amounts of aliens who were normally not taught in school systems at their homeland.

Some say it started with forced bussing.

Some say it's becasue of tax cuts and things like "Prop 13" mentality in California.

SOme say it's the decay of the family with the good bye of "Happy Days" when there was a mom and pop at home and being evil was drinking a beer or smoking a marlborough or kissing a girl to deeply.

Some say it's drugs

Some say its TV and entertainment

I personally think it's lack of home respect and motivation.

Fact, the top performers in Los Angeles Schools are Persians, Asians and Arabic students from families who have immigrated here but speak very good English and have a median income of over $35k a year.

These students defy some of the "some say" factors.

These students come from a family with a mom and a pop and the pop smacks them across the face if they talk back.

These students do come from a slighly affluent or lower Middle Class or firmly middle class family.

They have moral values, but tend to bend them a little, but not break them.

They don't tend to do drugs, get drunk, but can be prone to some violent or beligerant behavior.

Above all they have respect for home and family and family expects a certain level of perfomance out of them and they give it in the form of grades.

These students, Asians, PErsians and Arabics, get mostly As and Bs, guy and girl students alike.

They are often trilingual or quadlingual UPON ARRIVAL in America.

They are most often NOT natural citzens, but NATURALIZED or GREEN CARD

They get the Stanford Binet scores in the upper 90 Percentile ranks.

White students in the same schools get in the 60 - 70 Percentile ranks.

Black students in the same schools get in the 40-60 percentile rank.

Hispanic students in the same schools get into the 20 - 40 percentile rank.

Hence it's not the schools, not the teachers, not the educational program or syllubus, not the neighboorhood per se (Arabs, Persians, Asians and Hispanics tend to congregate together into sub-neighborhood pockets, blacks and whites tend to integerate more), not the financaing to the schools, not the buildings, not the materials.

Ultimately it seems to lie with the students, their motivations and home life.

This, at least, is an obvious conculsion (non-scientific) drawn from looking at the Los Angeles School systems test scores in a variety of neighborhoods over a 5 year period of time since 1999.

Answer 3

because there is no motivation fot children to earn [ or to learn] what they get in this country. i have a 5 year old nefew who takes karate, comes home w/ a trophy every 3 months . last week he came home with martial art weapons[ made of steal].. he doesnt even understand what karate is about.. when i took karate 40 years ago no one but black belt masters handeled weapons..if you dont have to earn things there is no motivation to learn, there is no incentive to improve and no value in rewards! children in the usa are given all they want and much much more w/o needing it no less earning it.
i see the children who are able to attend school in viet nam not waist 1min of time in class and do home work for hours w/o balking... and those who cannot attend school litteraly beg for the oppotunity to put on a school uniform and walk in the pouring rain for miles to attend class and learn.

Answer 4

No child left behind means that the whole group must wait for the slowest child to catch up. This calls for downdumbing of the curriculum and lowering of expectations for all.

Sue

Answer 5

Poor methods, low parental involvement, and a lessing of respect for an education.

Answer 6

We are rating ourselves on standardized testing scores. We are educating people to pass a test. This is the reason we are failing to the Chinese.

Answer 7

Why are you focusing on the negative aspects of life, when there are so many other positive and hopeful experiences that could change the world if they're focused on rather than bringing one's own nightmares to life even more clearly than ever before?

Answer 8

Bush's plan was a joke. i don't know any teacher that agrees with it. And people will still argue that he is a great leader. WHat a douche.

Answer 9

Because parents don't take responsibility to teach their kids anything. NCLB act doesn't have anything to do with it.

Answer 10

Because of the junk food and lack of descipline among the nation.
Solution:
Import highly educated people from abroad.