History of Urban Setting Schools in the United States - Essay Example

?Running head:  MIDTERM Insert         Insert Grade Insert 20 January History of Urban Setting Schools in the United States Introduction Quality education is important to students and a nation as well. When students excel in their academics, they have a chance of excelling in the job market as well. In the United States, the education sector has been a major priority, with numerous of reforms being implemented to improve students’ performance. Urban schools in the United States are located in the urban areas, with relatively high rates of poverty and mostly comprising students with limited English proficiency, therefore regarded as high need (Ruso, 2004). The urban schools were formed with an aim of accommodating children from low income families. The ‘No Child Left Behind Act’ was implemented with an aim of improving performance of students especially in urban schools. In addition, the Act was implemented by former president Bush in 2002 with an aim of improving students’ performance, hence assisting them to succeed in the future. This paper discusses the history of urban school setting in the United States, its crisis and the “No Child Left Behind Act” and its repercussions in depth. History of Urban Setting Schools in the U.S According to Gaskell (2012), in the early years, wealth was accumulated by a limited number of individuals, and as a result, poverty levels in the urban areas increased significantly. The urban population in the United States increased as well, resulting into many differences, such as racism and inequality. The funding of schools between the wealthy and the poor districts faced inequality. The urban schools in the United States have over the years faced a declining level of test scores and high rates of violence. According to Stark (2011), urban schools in the 1800s were started with an aim of providing immigrant parents with affordable places for their children to stay during the day as they worked in mills, factories, or shops. By 1920, the urban schools served the middle-class clients who aimed for white-collar jobs; however, by the late 1920s, the working class’s children had flooded the urban schools, hence changing their status due to financial constraints. Today, there is a sense of hopelessness in the urban schools, contributing to high levels of dropouts. According to Kincheloe (2006, p.95), teaching and learning practices in such schools do not value or encourage students’ performance. DSA (2012) adds that, quality education is a human right for all American students, and therefore, fairness and equality should be observed in the urban schools. Urban schools compromise of children from poor backgrounds; they amount to 11.5 million who live below the average poverty line, attending poverty-stricken schools, and lack computers and decent learning facilities. The urban schools force children to learn in unfriendly environment, which lack air conditioning. Moreover, urban schools record a high level of dropouts, especially among African American students. The performance of these schools in alarming, and this is an issue that needs to be addressed. No Child Left Behind Act A report of 1983 indicated that, there was a risk in the education sector, as 13% of 17-year olds on the country were considered illiterate, with scores in mathematics, physics, and English deteriorating (Jorgensen & Hoffmann, 2003, p.2). The rate of remedial classes in mathematics had increased by 72%; in addition, the school curriculum was of low quality, therefore of less benefit. The declining level of homework was also noted in the report, with less mathematics and science courses enrollment. The time students spent on schoolwork was much less; the schools’ administration did not encourage students to develop the required study skills such as time management, and emphasis on schoolwork (Jorgensen & Hoffmann, 2003, p.3). The 1983 report also indicated that, the teaching programs needed improvement; there was also shortage in the number of teachers in the key subjects of mathematics and science. As a result, the education sector was at risk, and a reform was needed urgently to improve the American schools. The Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 was passed thereafter; its aim was to improve education for the disadvantaged students and helping improve their academics. However, the Act focused on all the American children in providing high standards for learning (Jorgensen & Hoffmann, 2003, p.4). By 2000, most states had succeeded in development of academic contents and students performance as well. In January 2002, President George W Bush, approved the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which brought about clarity to the value and importance of testing achievement in students from kindergarten to high school. NCLB Act brought about parent involvement, accountability, and local control as strategies of improving performance of students and schools (Jorgensen & Hoffmann, 2003, p.6). NCLB Act required that high instruction standards should be set to track students’ performance; each states is also required to assess third grade to eighth grade in mathematics annually, and results made public in order to make it easier to track every school’s performance. The Act supports the instructional programs, indicating that the government will offer funds to support teachers in gaining effective skills in instructional techniques (Jorgensen & Hoffmann, 2003, p.7). Impact of ‘No Child Left Behind Act’ on Teachers The NCLB Act has had both positive and negative impacts on students and teachers; the Act has been effective in analyzing students’ performance in schools. Despite its advantages, the Act has caused majority of schools to focus on a single test, which is not relevant. Needless to say, the Act emphasizes greatly on maths and sciences; however, students need to be all rounded academically. According to Whitney (2004), the main challenge that faced teachers when the NCLB Act was implemented was to ensure that students were proficient in reading, science, and mathematics. The result of the school would mostly affect the teachers, forcing them to use different kinds of techniques to ensure progress in students. According to DSA (2012), the NCLB Act is failing, especially in low-income schools where teachers are overworked, as they deal with disruptive kids who require support from social services. In addition, the remedial skill-based curriculum contributes to frustration and demotivation among students. The NCLB Act ignores the main reason why children fail; it measures the students’ capability to read, however, it does not assure adequate preparation for college admission (Knaus, 2007, p.2). NCLB Act has also influenced teachers’ qualification by requiring them to obtain a bachelors degree in their specialization. The Act also holds the teachers accountable for the students’ performances, ignoring the effort a teacher may have put on students’ academics, but the students failed to improve; therefore, it may be based on unrealistic goals. CQ researcher (2007, p.366) adds that, this Act encourages teachers to leave low–performing schools, which are probably poor urban schools; this is unfair. As a result, teachers are pushed to the edge, and they end up being overworked in order to achieve the act’s goals. Teachers are also left in a disadvantaged position, since they need to keep their jobs, but the NCLB Act requires them to focus on a single measurement of achievement. Conclusion Urban schools have been in existence for decades in the United States; they were started as affordable places where low-income earners could leave their children as they worked during the day. However, these schools have deteriorated with time, as they possess low quality facilities that are unfavorable for learning. In addition, these institutions are associated with violence and low scores academically. NCLB Act was implemented with an aim of improving the performances of these schools and the overall education system. The Act has been able to improve students’ performance relatively; however, some urban schools continue to rag behind. The Act is therefore criticized for not addressing the main cause for students’ poor performance. The children in urban schools are mainly from poor backgrounds; hence, they are destructed in school, and have to bear with the poor facilities and unfriendly learning environment in schools, such as lack of air conditioning facilities. With only few schools meeting the standards of NCLB Act, the Act needs to be amended to accommodate the ignored pressing matters; nevertheless, the act is regarded to possess unrealistic goals. Quality education for all students, including the minority should be the focus of the United States education system. A good Act should be capable of eliminating the problems in urban schools that hinder good performance. In addition, it should have realistic goals, which can be easily achieved by both teachers and students, rather than unrealistic goals, which are frustrating to both parties. References CQ researcher. (2007). Fixing urban schools. Has no child left behind act, helped minority students? Retrieved from http://www.rochester.edu/warner/newsevents/2007/05/cqr20070427c.pdf DSA. (2012). Racism and the Crisis of Urban Education. Retrieved from http://www.dsausa.org/antiracism/editorials/editorials.html Gaskell, J. (2012). Urban Education Policy in Canada and the United States. Retrieved from http://www.learninglandscapes.ca/component/content/article/29 Jorgensen, M., & Hoffmann, J. (2003). History of the no child left behind act of 2001 (NCLB). Pearson education, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonassessments.com/NR/rdonlyres/D8E33AAE-BED1-4743-98A1-BDF4D49D7274/0/HistoryofNCLB_Rev2_Final.pdf Knaus, C. (2007). Still Segregated, Still Unequal: Analyzing the Impact of No Child Left Behind on African American Students. The State of Black America. Retrieved from http://www.berkeleyrep.org/school/images/Knaus.pdf Kincheloe, J. (2006). The Praeger handbook of urban education. CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Stark, R. (2011). History of summer vocation. Info-please. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/schoolyear1.html Whitney, S. (2004). No child left behind act: What teachers, principals and school administrators need to know. Retrieved from http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/nclb.teachers.admins.htm Russo, P. (2004). What makes any school urban school. Retrieved from http://www.oswego.edu/~prusso1/what_makes_any_school_an_urban_s.htm Read More