The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is an update to the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965, which created a clear role for the government’s involvement in K-12 policy (Klein, 2015). In 2002, President Bush signed the act into law. The purpose of the act is to ensure schools are kept on track and making adequate progress throughout the year. It holds schools accountable for the students’ performance and requires annual testing. The act was created to help level the playing field between rich and poor schools. Schools that need more funding to meet standards are identified. Although the federal act assigns school accountability, states are responsible for implementing the testing system and analyzing performance. The No Child Left Behind Act
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Nothing has been modified or amended. Initially, the act was set to be reviewed every few years. When Bush signed the act, it was known as the era of standardized testing (Garcia and Thorton, 2015).
Criticism
The No Child Left Behind Act faces a great deal of criticism. Parents tend to complain about the standardized testing and the pressure it places on their children. In the last 10 years, the number of federally mandated tests has tripled (Walker, 2015). Although it is hard to measure the exact impact, the increasing number of tests places an increasing amount of stress on students. Teachers also feel the stress associated with testing. Critics of the No Child Left Behind Act argue that less time spent on testing means more time spent on teaching and making useful improvements.
Parents that do not support the act feel standardized testing does not provide a clear picture. There are more factors that could be measured outside of reading and math (Garcia and Thorton, 2015) …show more content…
For example, schools with a high number of students living in poverty could implement programs to provide meals for children to bring home or after-school programs to keep students off the streets. Performing well on a test does not automatically mean students will grow up to be successful adults. Since the goal of education is to better the student’s future, all areas should be addressed. While there are certain things that schools cannot do to change a student’s social or economic status, there are programs that can help inspire or motivate the
Nothing has been modified or amended. Initially, the act was set to be reviewed every few years. When Bush signed the act, it was known as the era of standardized testing (Garcia and Thorton, 2015).
Criticism
The No Child Left Behind Act faces a great deal of criticism. Parents tend to complain about the standardized testing and the pressure it places on their children. In the last 10 years, the number of federally mandated tests has tripled (Walker, 2015). Although it is hard to measure the exact impact, the increasing number of tests places an increasing amount of stress on students. Teachers also feel the stress associated with testing. Critics of the No Child Left Behind Act argue that less time spent on testing means more time spent on teaching and making useful improvements.
Parents that do not support the act feel standardized testing does not provide a clear picture. There are more factors that could be measured outside of reading and math (Garcia and Thorton, 2015) …show more content…
For example, schools with a high number of students living in poverty could implement programs to provide meals for children to bring home or after-school programs to keep students off the streets. Performing well on a test does not automatically mean students will grow up to be successful adults. Since the goal of education is to better the student’s future, all areas should be addressed. While there are certain things that schools cannot do to change a student’s social or economic status, there are programs that can help inspire or motivate the