No Child Left Behind Analysis

In the beginning of his article, Steve Nelson compares the standardized test known as the Common Core to a Lego kit. As an art education major, a Lego kit sounds enjoyable compared to teaching the common core, but Mr. Nelson states that these kits instruct the user to create a certain object. The Common Core is supposed to evaluate students just like if a teacher were to hand out a Lego kit, ask the kids to make the same exact object, and evaluate each student that way. One clear problem pops up in this situation: where’s the creativity? If standardized testing is to stay, the arts need to find a placement to balance out the students. In No Child Left Behind, certain subjects became mandated and had standardized testing. One of the mandated subjects includes art; yet, art is not a standardized test for students to take (Hetland, 2013). Honestly, art teachers wouldn’t change that because they teach a specific set of skills that cannot be tested or taught in another class. Mr. Nelson declares the United States needs problem solvers; yet, teachers are forced to teach to the …show more content…
Nelson mentions there’s a need for visionaries and those who think outside of the box; however, tests don’t listen to children’s thoughts or allow them to color outside of the lines (Nelson, 2015). If art doesn’t come to mind for coloring outside the lines, nothing else could fit. In Studio Thinking2, they show the eight studio habits of mind: develop craft, engage and persist, understand art worlds, stretch and explore, envision, reflect, express, and observe. Reflection offers students the chance to evaluate themselves and how their work relates to others; stretch and explore allows a student to make a mistake and learn from that mistake to create something amazing (Hetland, 2013). With the common core, ideas are not swapped and creativity is not learned from mistakes. Mistakes are frowned up, which could lead to students feeling extremely