Citizens Vote-No Child Left Behind

How Would You Vote?

© Barbara Pytel

Jul 20, 2007

Since 2002 our educational system has been ordered by the federal government to meet standards or else. With mixed reviews in the media, educators and parents speak.


Negative View

Teachers and administrators do not hold a positive view of the No Child Left Behind Act. A New Jersey Educational Testing Service found:

  • 63% of administration hold a negative view
  • 77% of teachers hold a negative view

Changes?

These are the individuals in the schools that have hands-on experience teaching children. However, when the general public was asked if it would want to totally scrap NCLB, the vote was surprising.

  • 16% want it scrapped
  • 41% want minor changes
  • 35% want major changes

What about parents? How do they feel about the No Child Left Behind Act?

  • 13% want it scrapped
  • 45% want minor changes
  • 36% want major changes

And teachers, the people who best know the effects of NCLB, how do they vote?

  • 25% want it scrapped
  • 17% want minor changes
  • 58% want major changes

Finally, how do administrators vote on NCLB?

  • 22% want it scrapped
  • 26% want minor changes
  • 52% want major changes

Conclusions

While NCLB is controversial and causing much concern in schools with the replacement of teachers and administrators, the overwhelming majority of parents, teachers and administrators would not toss it out. The vote is for either making minor or major changes.

While the groups polled did not agree on everything, they did agree on two things. The two main problems of failing schools is

  • a lack of parental involvement
  • classroom discipline.

The groups also agreed on two improvement strategies:

  • smaller class sizes
  • administrators should be required to develop plans for real change.

Survey

The survey included

  • 1000 individuals from the general public
  • 626 parents
  • 251 teachers
  • 101 administrators

For more details, go to http://ets.org/americansspeak.html.

[Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, latimes.com, June 20, 2007]

Related articles: More Spanking?, Impact of Illegals on Schools, Corporal Punishment Returning?

Read previous articles on Educational Issues.

Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.


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