What is your opinion of the 'No Child Left Behind' Program?

Question

This question is for parents of school-age children and teachers please.

I am curious, what is your opinion of 'No Child Left Behind'

Is it a good program? Great? Not so good? Terrible? What are you basing your opinion on and what qualifies you to have that opinion (teahcer, parent etc)?

Thanks, I will ammend my answer to include my opinion after some people have answered.

Well after readin most of these answers I see there is not really a need for me to add my own opinion much... everyone already has!
I think "No Child left Behind" is doing exactly what it was designed NOT to do.
Foe example, my daughter is in K this year and she is in the top 10% of her gradelevel and the TOP is her class. Why then is she struggling with the work she is sent home? Because the teacher has no time to actually TEACH it, she just has to cram it into their little brains as fast as she can to make sure she is on the right page of the lesson plan when someone from the district pops in. As a result my child is bringing home homework she can't do and I am teaching it to her. Why are my tax dollars going to pay the teachers/school when I am the one doing the teaching? I thought my child was just struggling, but after speaking to the teacher, 2 other K teachers, and 7 other parents I know that my child is doing better than 90% of her gradelevel, so if my child is struggling..

what about the kids who are at 50% or even 10% of their gradelevel?

This program stinks. Thats why I am currently researching homeschooling, next year my child gets a real aducation... from me.

As for the program only benefitting the rich schools, I don't that thats entirly true. My daughters school IS in a wealthy area and her education sucks just as much as the one she would recieve at the school on the other end of town. We are NOT wealthy, but the school she is zoned for is.

The system needs a major overhaul.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to overhaul it?

Oh I asked for parents and teachers to get real responses, I don't mind responses from students or other people, I just wanted to avoid responses from people who have no idea what it means to have a child in school, or be a child in school.

I don't really think calling parents "morons" is the answer here.

Answer 1

I have a few problems with it. All of these come from my mother, a teacher, who hates this.

1. Underfunded- So many ideas and none of the money promised to help the ideas flourish.

2. Too much emphases on testing- Teachers are being forced to teach to these tests as opposed to the needs of the kids. Also, many schools are considering the minimum good enough to move on to the next level. If they need 60% to pass, you move on to the next chapter when 60% of the kids have a grasp on the information. They are too afraid to miss a chapter as opposed make sure the kids know what is happening in this one.

3. No freedom for teachers- Teachers are forced to teach to these tests. They are handed a booklet and said make sure you kids know this; this is what is on the test.

Answer 2

I'm a graduate student teaching college freshman English in Minnesota and have spoken often with high school and middle school teachers dealing with NCLB with whom I've had graduate classes. (I love teaching at the college level, since we have not yet been forced into such ridiculous government restraints and hopefully never will.) Like other respondents noted, all NCLB consists of is a pointless additional crapload of standardized tests. (Guess who was overjoyed when Bush passed NCLB? Every company who has computer programs to write and print and sell standardized tests. NCLB is going to keep these companies in business forever.) As all good teachers already know, standardized tests are the most enormously worthless measure of academic progress and skill development on the planet.

I've also taught dance in the past and know that NCLB has thoroughly screwed over arts education in most schools. When teachers are forced to teach to bubble tests, the subjects that inevitably get cut at the end of the day are art and music. (The school from which I graduated in Wisconsin couldn't afford to hire a new elementary art teacher after the last one retired. The job responsibilities were conveniently dumped onto the high school arts instructor.)

But not only NCLB has shown how much Bush cares about education; it's his pouring of money into scientifically questionable abstinence-only programs that perpetuate gender stereotypes and have been proven ineffective at preventing the spread of disease and even curbing teen pregnancy. Recently, the state of New Jersey joined California, Maine, and Connecticut in rejecting federal funding requiring the money be used to conduct ineffective abstinence-only programs: http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=5408

Answer 3

As a parent, I think the concept is good. However, there is much more standardized testing at an earlier grade. Because of this, the teachers tend to stress over these tests because the school systems put so much pressure and emphasis on these tests. This pressure begins in kindergarten when the begin preparing the kids to take these tests. I think the program needs some work.

Answer 4

Well you asked for parents to answer, but I'm a college student who went through it. Keep in mind I graduated 2nd in my class and had to take these tests. Quite honestly I think they are horrible. Since the beginning of the program schools are no longer interested in actually teaching what is important, only catering to the tests. Homework has been tripled and the difficulty of academic studies has increased dramatically. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for learning, so please dont think I want things to be simple. I'm saying that the quality of education is not what it once was because teachers are shoving as much as they can into a student and are no longer concerned with what they are absorbing. As long as the information they need is in your short term memory, no one cares what you learn anymore. I think that the no child left behind program is only causing more problems althought I commend the effort to help.

Answer 5

measuring results and creating accountability has not been the total answer. education doesn't work like a free market for a fluid commodity. you can't just pick up and put your kid in a "winning school". it also doesn't work to deprive the "bad" school of funds and students via a market mechanism.

motivated, serious, committed parents have kids that reflect that when they get to school. i think that a lot of the problem or solution is found at home. a program to verify the school's results is good, you want to know what works.

but don't starve the ones that are in trouble and punish kids because of the neighborhood or the quality of parenting.

Answer 6

I think it is stupid. It is happening all over the country. I know someone who is a teacher in Texas and they too have to "pass" the children even if they are failing and trying to teach them all in a short amount of time. Not being a parent or a student may exclude my judgment however I feel that the education system is failing us all. Not only for our children but for the better of the future for our children. We need to take a stand all over the country and get them to change the standards of education. But that's just me :p

Answer 7

It is forcing teachers to focus on helping kids pass tests, and what good does that do? I don't know about you, but I don't take tests in my job. No one quizzes me on a regular basis.

It's also putting unnecessary pressure on students to meet expectations that make no sense. No child learns the exact same way, and no test can reflect that child's individual strengths as a learner.

Plus, with the number of colleges moving away from using standardized tests as a gauge for admissions, it really makes no sense.

It also holds teachers accountable when sometimes, you have students who just don't want to learn. Why is that fair to the teacher who is already underpaid?

Answer 8

It's awful! It puts way too much pressure on teachers and schools to have students perform well on standardized tests. This is so archaic! Standardized testing is not the only or best way to measure achievement. Because of these new pressures, art, drama, and music programs are being cut from schools to have more test prep time.

I have also seen schools that have drastically cut back their recess times because of the ever-increasing pressure to make sure the students perform well.

Answer 9

Not so good. It seems teaches are always worring about how thier students will do on testing. So much so that they limit themselfs to teaching basic subjects.

I think a total restructuing would be the best, even though it would aggavate many people. In a nutshell everyone does not have the same learning potential.

For most learning to occur students should be segregated by aptitude and abilities. Then those who need to go slowly with deatailed explanations can have them and those who are able to learn independently can be taught to think, research, and question. This will allow the attack of more advanced and interesting topics.

Answer 10

As a teacher, I feel that some children *SHOULD* be left behind. Example: Postponing basic math skills like "fractions" until 7th grade just because it's too tough for 3 of the kids in 5th grade ends up "dumbing down" the bunch. Sadly, it gets worse with each new year.