Time is soon approaching when the test prep will be over and the state high stakes state assessments will be rolled out. Ready?
I will definitely be spending some time offering suggestions to help you diffuse some of the anxiety of your students. And some sympathy for those who have to administer an alternative assessment. Some of them are doozies (We see students from 5 states at my facility.) Those that don't qualify for the alternate test end up "snatchin' their heads bald." I've also heard the story of a local school district who tried, early on, to exceed their 3 percent in order to stack the deck in their favor. They got caught.
So, has No Child Left Behind done it's job? Are our schools better, or just our student's performance? And what about all the states that have dumbed down their state tests to increase their success rate?
I know, after working in inner city schools, that the energy that goes into improving test scores, as opposed to real instruction, is significant. In my second placement, we did not teach science until after the state test. We were not allowed to teach science until after the state test. I know lots of strategies for improving student scores, and even some good strategies to teach content in ways that support the student's performance on the test. But get out into some of the suburbs, and you find they don't need preparation. My younger son never did test prep and received outstandings from 3rd through 8th grades. Are we really closing the gap?
US News and World Report has an excellent feature on No Child Left Behind. Margaret Spelling reflects her loyalty to the failed Bush administration, of course. Randi Weingarten's loyalties are to teachers, especially to teachers in large cities where the AFT tends to dominate. Their points of view are still important. Michael Cohen and Andrew Rotherman share some really incisive observations. What's your point of view?
Comments
my kid wast left behind,n now he;s 20yrs n doesnt have aclue of whwt to do.can u pls help me or tell me. THANKS,ANA
No child left behind is very complicated. I remember when “No child left behind” first came into effect – I had planned a trip and we took along a child who was not supposed to go on a trip. When the principle expressed disappointment that we never followed protocal – my staff pointed out that “We figured no child was to be left behind!” That settled it.
President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” program is at least a starting point to address the problems with the educational system. It’s not perfect, but now there is a foundation to build on. Bush’s legacy regarding international affairs is questionable, but I’m confident he will eventually be credited for leading the charge for our children’s education.
NCLB does NOT close the gap for all children especially children with special needs. A lot these children have difficulty processing information and retaining it. Therefore, it will take them longer to learn what is required. They made not meet the standards for their grade that year. Adjustments are needed.
The no child left behind doesn’t help the mental challenging children, children with learning problems children with mental illness. The school system where we live grades our child on the work they do not. So if the paper has 20 problems and they only do 10 than they get graded on that 10. School has been a problem for our child. She would rather commit suide than go to school and the school can’t see the problem because she doesn’t show it outward she hurts herself instead of others. The only thing we get is send her to school we don’t see the problem you are talking about. It has been a struggle most of her life with school and now that she is in middle school the thing we keep hearing over and over is we (the school) are here to make them independent. My saying is no you need to see the problem my child is having and fix it I will make her independent. If a child would rather kill themselve than go to school and has tried than there is a problem that needs to be fixed the parent should not have to keep begging for help. If no child left behind were true the mental challenging children would not be suffering like they are.