Has No Child Left Behind made more of a positive or negative impact on education in the US?

Answer 1

Today's children often go home to an empty house due to both parents having to work to support the family. Many children resort to computer games, etc., that lead to a mindlessness, where time or outside influences are minimal. When children have a larger support of an extended family, where there are more adults involved in their upbringing, this can lead to more outward development of children.
The no child left behind is a grand scheme- but the reality that all children have to pass is unrealistic. The old "Bell Curve" of intelligence does not allow all children to be equal- there is a strong need for special education for both the upper and lower sides of the bell curve.
The schools now prepare students to study to pass these mandated tests. That is a good discipline if other facets of teaching are also utilized. These facets could include hands on teaching; class participation teaching; group development teaching; and the old lecture teaching. The more one involves a student in as many different ways to learn, the more chance the student will remember and learn- using building blocks to achieve to more difficult levels.
Certainly excellent teachers should be acknowledged, but merit pay can be very subjective to the educational system. A conservative or liberal school system may reward those teachers that follow their precepts, instead of challenging open minded discussions. At my son's high school, a brilliant teacher was fired because a student's parent complained of his dialogue teaching method. There was no review of his method, and he was fired, to the dismay of many parents who appreciated his teaching.
In Germany, highly rigorous tests separate children at a young age to train in professions where they have high aptitude. Our schools could follow a similar pattern.
We need to have in high schools four years of math, science, English or literature, foreign language, social science, an art or music or technical elective, and PE. This mandatory format would dissolve the need for no child left behind, and at every level of intelligence, every child could achieve four years of graded classes.

Answer 2

Negative.
The imposition of a single standard under NCLB caused a lot of problems. Some schoolsare struggling endlessly to bring their students up to the national requirements, and many students suffer, or fail, in the transitioning time frame, and do get left behind. Other schools, like those in the state of Alaska, simply lower their expectations on their exit exams until the majority of students can pass it. We now have an eighth grade level test that we are expected to pass in tenth grade, making the last two years pointless. In the end, no one's education is being improved, because we cannot agree on what standard should be met, and forget about our students in the meantime.

As a matter of policy, schools that need funding the most to improve their students performance, are being denied. Aid for poverty-stricken school has not changed, and instead a $100 million program called the American Scholarship Opportunity has been created that redirects funds to private schools when the local school doesn't meet standards. Nevermind that those school can't meet the standards without adequate funding.

Answer 3

NCLB has had a negative impact. Focusing too much on tests does two things. The obvious is that the test becomes more important than learning. But the second is that we still don't understand the most effective ways to teach and learn at the K-12 level. I think ideally the competition was supposed to allow the cream to rise to the top in terms of schools, but the process of education is much more important than what an overall school scores. Also standardized tests don't necessarily capture an accurate reading of what a student has learned. Some people take tests well and others don't. The thing is that you can teach strategy on taking standardized tests. I remember learning those strategies worked wonders for me when I was trying to get into graduate school The one thing I think NCLB has done is give students the skill to take tests, because school systems understand that this skill set is now the important outcome for success. And you see it with rising test scores on entrance exams to college. Unfortunately, I don't think that should be the priority. The priority should be the learning needs of each student, and ensuring that the student actually becomes proficient in certain areas, and possibly even achieve mastery for their age in others. Focus on a standardized test does not allow for this. Benchmarking the best schools processes, researching different approaches, and the like are where we should be spending most of our time, money and resources towards.

Answer 4

This no child left behind is a joke, we are actually leaving the children behind and focusing on test scores and school performance in stead of the needs of the children. many schools have cut back on arts, drama, music and other classes designed to enhance the child's ability to express themselves and now they focus on academics ALL day long. Some schools have even cut out recess. This is unhealthy and a form of control in that a child has no time to unwind during the school day. The entire year is scheduled around the schools, cities or towns, testing scores, and not teaching the kids to be kids. If a kid had no time to unwind, when the testing begins, how can we expect he child to preform, they are under too much stress. My grandson has homework during the summer. he is not a special needs student, just a regular kid in a public school( the second grade). By stating "No child left behind" we are being hypocritical. Many students are left behind without the interaction of play with other classmates, many do not have that at home, socialization is an important part of human development. Focusing on the MCAS as a graduation requirement and not having the tutoring to help these students in the areas in which they may need it is leaving a child behind. Statistics and numbers have become much more important to our goverment and our school system than producing well rouded children who are happy, healthy and challenged in all areas is a disgrace. We need teachers to stop needling the children about the scores and administration to stop pushing schools to produce numbers instead of happy, healthy, productive children.

Answer 5

What? This was Marian Wright Edelman's NAME for a program that would've worked. Bush Hijacked the name being the coward he is and used it for his program. Go speak to Marian Wright Edelman, Barack - engage her.
Bush's plan has more students left behind; and teachers teaching the test for fear of not reaching their AYP in their schools. The focus is on getting more money; test scores up; and students that need help - well - jail, 'em; send 'em to an alternative school; anything other than have them their - left behind as a challenge to what should school really be about!!

Get the right program, and then we may go somewhere.

Answer 6

Not sure about the entire US; however in the district I live in the schools only teach to the standards of learning and not much else; therefore I would have to give the NCLB a negative impact grade.

Answer 7

It hasn't really made any impact. Except the kids say "Damn tests. I hate tests" It hasn't done anything because if a school has like 10 percent of students that passed the test, the school doesn't get threatened to be shut down if there is no improvement by a certain timeframe.

Answer 8

Negative

Answer 9

Negative! Im a high school student in Pennsylvania, and because of the NCLB we have to take these state tests called PSSAs. They are long and quite hard. If you don't pass, they place you in a remedial class (ie. Math or Reading) and take an elective away. Totaly unfair, and all about money.

Answer 10

It has definitely been negative, children who excel are now penalized for not being a "special case" in need of more attention so we are dumbing done the classroom to it's lowest level. It used to be divided into categories but that is too demoralizing for kids that are not as bright as others...rather than deal with the fact that some kids are not as bright as others and keep challenging the kids who are bright we are making them suffer due to others not being at their level. If we were all meant to be at the same level we would have been cloned not born!