No child left behind.

I am a conservative republican and I both respect and admire President George W. Bush. I voted for him twice, but that does not mean that I support everything he does. For example, the no Child left behind act. On paper it looks good and I have to admit when I first heard about it I was all for it, after all we ant our children to receive the best possible education available. However, in practice it has only served to hurt our children and our schools. I have included a portion of the no child left behind act so you can see specifically what it says. If you are interested, you can read the act in its entirety by clicking “No child left behind.

The Policy

Closing the Achievement Gap:

• Accountability and High Standards. States, school districts, and schools must be accountable for ensuring that all students, including disadvantaged students, meet high academic standards. States must develop a system of sanctions and rewards to hold districts and schools accountable for improving academic achievement.

• Annual Academic Assessments. Annual reading and math assessments will provide parents with the information they need to know how well their child is doing in school, and how well the school is educating their child.
• Consequences for Schools that Fail to Educate Disadvantaged Students.Schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for disadvantaged students will first receive assistance, and then come under corrective action if they still fail to make progress. If schools fail to make adequate yearly progress for three consecutive years, disadvantaged students may use Title I funds to transfer to a higher-performing public or private school, or receive supplemental educational services from a provider of choice.

Improving Literacy by Putting Reading First:

• Focus on Reading in Early Grades. States that establish a comprehensive reading program anchored in scientific research from kindergarten to second grade will be eligible for grants under a new Reading First initiative.

• Consequences for Failure. The Secretary of Education will be authorized to reduce federal funds available to a state for administrative expenses if a state fails to meet their performance objectives and demonstrate results in academic achievement.

• Innovative School Choice Programs and Research. The Secretary of Education will award grants for innovative efforts to expand parental choice, as well as to conduct research on the effects of school choice.

It sounds good and you might think how any one could have a problem with wanting our schools to be accountable and make sure our children receive the best possible education. The no child left behind act has determined that every child must be able to pass standardized test given at specific grade level. In other words, they have decided that the information in the test is for example what every third grader needs to know. If the third grades in your school have not mastered that material when the government says they should have then your school is considered a failing school. This does not take into account the exceptional learner, or the English language learner's who are unable to pass the test due to their handicaps or inability to speak English. Yet they are held to the same standard as the child who has no handicaps or who is a proficient English speaker. Many schools which provide an education to children who have special needs or who have a large migrant population are therefor unfairly penalized for not achieving the test scored that the government has said they should be achieving for a school with the population of student that they have.

All this does is hurt many schools that are doing a wonderful job of educating our children by penalizing them for having students that simply should not be held to the same standards as other children. This in turn hurts the child because instead on focusing on the things, they can do and enhancing those qualities, a teacher may spend too much time trying to teach them to pass a test they will never be able to pass. Alternatively, it may frustrate the English language learner who is trying very hard to lean the language while at the same time master the standards. No body wants to leave a child behind but what we should remember is that every child learns at their own pace and not all children are ready at the same time. Instead of making sure that, no child is left behind why we do not make sure that all children are led where they need to go when they are ready to go there.