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 has been ineffective in achieving its intended goals, has had negative unintended consequences, is incompatible with policies that do work, has been at the mercy of political processes, and is based on premises that are fundamentally flawed. The law has focused narrowly on basic skill tests that devolve the curriculum and the educational experience itself and narrow what should be a broad liberal education and the values and convictions that accompany teaching and learning. What we needed was a bill that would truly help ensure great public schools for every child.
NCLB has not been successful and should be replaced because it requires accountability for only math and reading, and interferes with the goals of education, with the distortion most severe for disadvantaged students. There is no adjustment for socioeconomic differences among students, although these are very important factors that impact student achievement.
NCLB sanctions schools and districts rather than supports their efforts to improve achievement. The achievement gap between white and Asian students and black and Latino students has not narrowed during NCLB’s tenure. The current law has set public schools up for failure. It is statistically impossible for all students to be proficient on these tests.
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