The Stress of Middle School Principals in Relation to the State Standardized Testing - Essay Example

President Bush actually drew upon his various experiences as governor of Texas in helping to draft the No Child Left Behind Act. This particular reform movement carried many similarities to legislation passed in Texas during the 1990s, only now to implemented on a national scale (Debray, 2005). Upon coming into office, the Bush administration quickly set forth an ambitious education reform agenda and, by 2001, it was already evident that legislation would be drafted that would be unlike any previous attempts at educational reform made by other Presidents before him (Sunderman, 2005).

During this time, it also became well known that certain provisions within NCLB itself would be completely new to professional educators and the public alike. This included the provision for state-mandated testing, the frequency with which such exams would be required, and the disciplines that the tests would encompass. The legislation also mandated a strict focus on improving scores in the areas of mathematics and reading, as well as setting aside funding and penalties for thousands of schools almost immediately upon the signing of the actual legislation (Sunderman & Kim, 2005).

One area that quickly became a target was local school districts. They were required to give up control over the student assessment process in deference to new federal guidelines and procedures. The No Child Left Behind Act went so far as to require respective state in the Union to design their own exams and then administer them to every eligible child within their fold. For really the first time in the history of America, this particular reform effort mandated academic improvement as a matter of law, and not just principle (Orefield, 2005).

In reality, this quickly became a regulatory issue, as opposed to merely an education and professional problem.