No Child Left Behind is a US education act designed to increase the education standards for American public schools. The increased focus on accountability has both fans and detractors in the education field.
The basics. When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law on January 8, 2002, it was based on the following ideals:
- Stronger Accountability for Results: schools, districts and states are held accountable for improving students' academic growth; this is measured by performance on standardized tests.
- More Freedom for States and Communities: states and local education agencies may use federal funding to support teacher quality, technology, and innovative programming.
- Encouraging Proven Educational Methods: teaching strategies and curricula must be based on scientifically proven methods.
- More Choices for Parents: parents of children in under-performing schools can choose to attend another school using a voucher. They may also select free tutoring in math or reading from a list of state-approved tutoring providers.
Narrowing of the curriculum. The increased focus on accountability in the implementation of No Child Left Behind requires schools to focus on testing, testing, and more testing in order to ensure "adequate yearly progress." Programs like art, music and physical education have gone by the wayside in order to focus on the basics required to pass the test. And moreover, many educators believe that No Child Left Behind puts the burden on public school teachers to carry the burden alone. Schools that don't make the grade can be taken under state control.
Presidential candidates have put No Child Left Behind on the agenda for 2008, but it’s lagging behind other discussions, like what to do about the war in Iraq, gun control, immigration, and government reform. This particularly troubling, given the results of a recent international study (PISA) that revealed that American students continue to drop further and further behind in science and math.
So what's an average citizen to do?
You can help. There are some simple ways that you can help your local public schools, starting right now:
- Ask your neighbors and friends to donate any books their kids aren’t reading and drop them off at your local book bank. Children living in poverty have been shown to have fewer than one book per household--usually a telephone book or a bible.
- If you work for a large corporation, ask the charitable giving department to adopt an after-school program in a needy neighborhood in your community. $800 will buy snacks for a year. $4,000 will buy a classroom library. $8,000 will pay for a teacher for one year. $45,000 is enough to run an after-school classroom for an entire year.
- Call or write to your local representatives and suggest modifications to No Child Left Behind, or even recommend scrapping it altogether. They’re rethinking this act in Congress right now, and voting for reauthorization is currently in progress. Write and tell them what you think—members of Congress’ staff reads their email every day. Go to Congress.org to find your congressperson’s email address.
- Vote.
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