In January of 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, which penalizes or rewards schools based on students’ performance on standardized tests. Nearly seven years later the questions surrounding this controversial legislation are as pressing as ever. Does No Child Left Behind make the grade?
No Child Left Behind, (NCLB) has not improved public education. NCLB has promoted deepening segregation and inequality in our public schools. In suburban and predominately white schools, students have access to a multitude of electives, career pathways and AP courses which prepare them to attend a broad range of colleges upon graduation. On the other hand, under the threat of NCLB sanctions, including privatization, mass removal of teachers, and closure, students in segregated Latino and black schools are subject to a stripped-down, test-prep curriculum that is preparation for only the most menial, low-paying, and insecure jobs in our society.
NCLB was developed and driven by politicians, not educators. Almost none of the experts knowledgeable about the negative effects the legislation would have on the education of poor children were invited to testify about NCLB before either the House or Senate. None of the conclusions drawn from educational research, other than some research on phonics, were integrated into the legislation. What emerged was an 1100-page document calling for impossible achievements that have never been accomplished anywhere, use of 50 different sets of standards and very rigid sanctions.
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