No Child Left Behind Act - Research Paper Example

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind is a United States law that was proposed in 2001 by an Act of congress with concerns on education of children in public schools. The law was first proposed by the President Bush administration in 2001 immediately when he took over office as the president of the United States of America. His bill passed into law with limited bipartisan support. The law is preordained to backing customary based education transformation based because setting high standards and forming measurable goals can improve separable outcomes in education. This law requires all the states to give these assessments to all the students at the various grades so that they can receive federal states funding. The various states are to set a national achievement standard. This law requires the government managed schools that receive federal funding to set nationwide standardized test every year to all students. This implies that the students will take similar tests under the same conditions. This standard test will enable the public to know whether the school has taught the students in the best way possible. It is also a requirement of the law that the school set a better grade for the next group as a target for the next incoming class. However, various steps are taken towards a school that does not consistently achieve these good grades. One of the steps is that the schools, which do not achieve the adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years, are publicly known as schools in need of improvement. They are then required to come up with a two-year plan in that subject that the school is not performing well. Students in such schools are given permission to transfer to schools within their districts that are performing according to the standards. The second step taken is that the schools, which miss the adequate yearly progress for the third consecutive year, are required to offer tuition services and other supplementary education services to those students that encounter difficulties. Another step taken is that if a school misses the adequate yearly progress target set for a fourth consecutive year, the school will be known as one that needs corrective action. This action might require full replacement of teachers and staff, extending the number of hours that the students might require to use in the classes, or introducing a new curriculum in those schools (Howell web). If the school misses good results for the fifth consecutive year, a plan to restructure the school is imposed. In addition, if the school misses the sixth year in a row, various steps are taken to restructure the school. This may involve hiring a private firm to manage the school. The school may be turned into a charter school, or may require the state office of education to manage the school directly (Cleary web). The no child left behind Act has various effects on the teachers involved, the schools, and the school districts. One effect is that it increases accountability for all the people involved. The various supporters of this law note that the strongest point of this law is that it promotes accountability to the schools and teachers. It is a requirement that the schools have to pass the yearly tests targets. This determines the improvements that have made over that academic year (Howell web). The second effect that this law has is that it sets a link between the state and the students’ performance every year. This is because of the direct link in state funding and the various punishments that link with schools accountability. Another effect that it has is that the of the various schools performance progress is measured from grade three to eight and to the minimum once during high school through standardized tests. The third effect of this law is that it provides parents with information by requiring the schools to provide detailed report cards. This explains the schools and districts yearly progress on the standard tests. In addition to these effects, the law creates the footing for schools and school districts that greatly enhances the parental involvement and improved administration in the schools (Johnson 5-50). On the schools choice, it gives the students an option to select an option of their choice. It also gives those students in schools that do not achieve high adequate yearly progress a choice to transfer to a school of their choice where they can receive free tuition or attend after school programs. It also gives the district the opportunity to show high quality even in schools that do not meet high state minimum achievement standards (Gouwens 7-198). The no child left behind law also has several effects on the student’s assessments. Over the last five years, the standardized test has seen more progress made in the by nine year olds in reading and writing than in the last twenty-eight years. In addition, America’s nine year olds achieved the best scores in reading and mathematics. Furthermore, mathematic and reading scores for both the black and Hispanic nine year olds students increased (Syrja 11-104). The law has its strengths and weaknesses. In its strengths, the law overseas greater qualities control. This is witnessed in the involvement of everyone, the state, teachers, and parents in a move meant to improve the quality of education in America. A second strength is that it increased focus on the education of subgroups. The law requires that emphasis on the education of subgroups of the minority students, disabled students and those students whose native language is not English (Peterson and West 23-26). Another advantage is that more federal funds are involved and given in the system of education. This is through the materials bought for needy and disadvantaged students in the schools. Another reason is through the increased number of teachers required to work in the schools and more books required for the students. The third advantage is through the increased emphasis on teacher certification. More teachers that are qualified are required to teach schools as compared to the earlier times (Howell web). However, various critics are associated with this system. Among them is that the system emphasizes too much on testing. There are also inflexible standards set by the system. Furthermore, it provides a diminished states right. This can be associated with poor results of a state. Another critic is that the system puts more emphasis on subgroups. Critics argue that this will not improve the education of students in the group. Lastly critics say that there is an over emphasis on paper qualifications for teaching (Cleary web). Works Cited Cleary, Robert “The No Child Left behind Act of 2002.” Is this law helping or hurting education in the United States? n.d. Web 19, March 2012. < http://www.cosmos-club.org/web/journals/2004/cleary.html> Gouwens, Judith “Education in Crisis: A Reference Handbook” Contemporary World Issues. California: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print. Howell, Robert “Journal of Industrial Teacher Education” Summer 2004 Volume 41, Number 2. 2004. Web 19, March 2012. < http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JITE/v41n2/kymes.html> Johnson, Marilyn “No Child Left behind Act.” Resource guide. Chicago: Chicago Board of Education, 2002. Print. Peterson, Paul and West, Martin “No child left behind the politics and practice of school accountability.” G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Massachusetts: Brookings Institution Press. 2003. Print. Syrja, Rachel “How to Reach and Teach English Language Learners: Practical Strategies to Ensure Success” Volume 4 of J-B Ed: Reach and Teach. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. 2011. Print. Read More