A Guide to US Education and No Child Left Behind - Essay Example

The task of educating the people in the US falls on the and local governments. The Founding Fathers of the US has identified education as one of the most important functions of government. This focus was important to the Founding Fathers in writing the Constitution because the success of US democracy is dependent on an educated public. John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers stated: "Education for every class and rank of people down to the lowest and the poorest." The principles of No Child Left Behind can be traced back to a historical piece of legislation, Brown v. Board of Education, when the U.S. Supreme Court banned racial segregation in public schools and determined that the "separate but equal doctrine" was unconstitutional. On Jan. 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 into law with tremendous bipartisan support. The final votes were 87-10 in the Senate and 381-41 in the House. Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Congressmen George Miller (D-CA) and John Boehner (R-OH) were its chief sponsors in the Senate and the House. (US Department of Education). The main proponent of the Act was President George W. Bush. President Bush wanted to expand the educational opportunities for all students, including students who are just learning the English language and students who are new to the US. The law ensures that all children regardless of their ethnic and cultural origin can receive a quality education and enhance their academic potential. The Act reflects the President's education reform plan and contains changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The NCLB Act enhances the federal government's role in K-12 education by focusing on school success as measured by student achievement. The Act also contains the President's four education reform principles: stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work. With this law, American taxpayers will derive benefits from their heavy investment in education. (Paige and Gibbons, 2004) No Child Left Behind was the successful culmination of a standards-and-testing movement that began with A Nation at Risk report by the Reagan administration in 1983. This push for a standards-based reform gained further support during the 1989 education summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. In that summit, President George H. W. Bush together with the nation's governors set performance goals for American schools. By 1991, President Bush's "America 2000" proposal included voluntary national testing tied to world class standards. President Clinton signed into law "Goals 2000," which provided grants to help states develop academic standards. With the 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the states were required to develop content and performance standards for K-12 schools. Congress adopted the adequate yearly progress that became the linchpin of accountability in No Child Left Behind. States were mandated to make substantial progress toward the goal of academic proficiency for all students. However, at that time, there was no deadline for these standards to be met. Several states which were supposed to pass the standards failed to meet these standards. (Paige and Gibbons, 2004). Features of the Legislation The first feature of the NCLB is that it demanded greater accountability by increasing the annual goals for student achievement. Schools and districts register adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting set targets. Educators must meet their targets. NCLB has set minimum standards for teacher quality. These standards assist local educational agencies such as districts on decisions covering curriculum, textbooks and materials. These standards constitute a starting point for developing assessments to measure student mastery. Annual assessments are done and all students are classified into one of these performance levels. NCLB requires all students to reach the proficient level of performance within 12 years, and the state must set increasing annual targets to ensure that this occurs. Incentives are given to schools which meet the AYP target. Schools which need improvement for get sanctions. The educational agencies are required to provide technical assistance to schools that need improvement. The state educational agencies are required to provide technical assistance to districts that need improvement. (Stecher, et. al., 2003). The second feature of the NCLB is that it fosters flexibility and local control. It encourages states to give rewards to successful schools and requires states to apply sanctions to unsuccessful ones. These actions will foster effective instruction and enable schools to assist their poorly performing students. Each state sets its own achievement standards and has its own set of tests. The law requires every state to participate in the 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics exams of the NAEP. The NAEP results assesses the states' respective performance. Schools needing improvement get management or administrative assistance. Districts provide technical assistance to schools, and the U.S. Department of Education provides technical assistance to states. This assistance covers book acquisition, professional development training and specific teacher training. (Stecher, et. al., 2003). The third key feature of BCLB is that it allows parents to have a voice in how and where their children are educated. If a school is underperforming, the parents can transfer their children to another school. If a parent demands, the district can put up transportation funds for the student in the new school. Parents are informed about the professional qualifications of their children's teachers, the success of the school, and their children's options with respect to moving to another school. (Stecher, et. al., 2003). The fourth key feature of the law is that it puts emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to be effective Remedial efforts are extended to poorly performing students. The standards need to describe content in a way that shows excellent curriculum design, instructional planning and test construction. Effective achievement standards inform students, teachers, and parents about the level of performance that is expected. Achievement standards designate a set of performance levels and descriptions of student performance at each of these levels. ((Stecher, et. al., 2003). To make the NCLB more effective, these four recommendations are strongly advised. One, school administrators and teachers can resort to capacity-building. Second, the staff could discuss student work and test results in the context of the standards. These activities help teachers assess students' strengths and weaknesses relative to the standards and make adjustments to their teaching. Third, the school can deal with institutions and consultants who can help translate content standards into instruction. Fourth, the school can explain the standards to parents so they will know exactly what is expected of their children. Knowledge of the state's expectations for their children enables parents to play an active role in their children's learning. Parents will also find helpful if teachers give some descriptions of how specific assignments or student work samples are linked to standards. (Stecher, et al., 2003). References: Paige, Rod and John Gibbons. October 2004. "A Guide to US Education and No Child Left Behind. U.S. Department of Education Office of Public Affairs. Stecher, Brian, Laura Hamilton and Gabriella Gonzalez. 2003.Working Smarter to Leave No Child behind: Practical Insights for School Leaders. Rand: Santa Monica, CA. Online sources No Child Left Behind. US Department of Education Website. http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/importance/difference/index.html. Read More