Monday, July 23, 2012

NCLB: How are we doing?

Today I'm going to comment on the hard decisions again.

But what are schools struggling with? What goals are they trying to reach?

In short all publicly funded schools are trying to meet the standards of No Child Left Behind.  Likely you're asking yourself "Who doesn't know what NCLB is?" Well to be fair to everyone let's first look at what NCLB does.

I am going to go to the Education Week let this explain this to everyone. But I will touch on some of the big marks.

Schools must have annual testing.

Schools must meet academic progress.

Schools must post their results of testing and if they meet AYP (annual yearly progress) on a school report card.

Schools must have "highly qualified teachers."

Reading First which was developed to set up "scientific, researched-based" reading programs for K-3.

Schools are expected to have resources directed to them with poorer districts receiving funds first.


All of this sounds great. Honestly, these sound like excellent ideas and standards. It is no wonder why this was ushered in with bipartisan support.

Which makes the next part of this so confusing. Especially If you vaguely remember NCLB being passed and then watched the recent rounds of teacher bashing on television.

More than HALF of U.S. states have received waivers from being held to the standards of NCLB. Yes I said that correctly over half of the states have requested and received waivers to no longer be held to the requirements. But these waivers are only good for one year.

Now why would so many states want to opt out of the program? Well let's look at what schools are expected to achieve. The goal of NCLB was that 100 percent of students would be proficient in all subject areas by 2013-2014.

In high school alone that means that 100 percent of students graduate. Never mind that anyone who ever went to high school knows not everyone is going to make it. How many people can think of at least one person who left to go work full time? How many people can think of someone who got pregnant and dropped out? Or someone who just did not understand the material and needs that extra year to fully grasp it.

Also the standards to make AYP are also broken down in to subgroups, including economically disadvantaged students, students who are minorities, and students with disabilities.

While the purpose of NCLB was noble, there has been a very distinct result, and by no means is it a good one.

Report: Students say school is too easy

Not only have we created a system where half of the states admit they can not meet the requirements, but the students themselves tell us that school has become too easy.

We have lowered the bar so we can make an unreasonable AYP. The consequence is schools are not preparing students to be successful in post-secondary education and/or the work force.

So what are we to do?

That is a question that is going to make someone very unpopular in congress. Let's hope someone asks it soon and does more than have a photo op about it.

But the answer is so simple.
The answer is...
Let our teachers teach again. Put the power of education back in the hands of our states, back in the hands of individual school districts, and most importantly - back in the hands of our teachers. Hold teachers accountable for teaching, make tenure harder to get and harder to keep. But ultimately, let our teachers teach. And not just how to take a state mandated test. If we let our teachers teach, then we will once again start producing students who can read (and comprehend), can write, can problem solve and can think critically. Then our country, known for it's greatness, will stop being ranked so low in education on the global scale. Students will once again have a curiosity and thirst for learning. Hallways will be filled with intrinsic-motivated learners. Standards will still be met. And our education system can be truly effective once again.


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