Act to Help Children Read Gooder: Where Are We With the No Child Left Behind Law?

In 2001 the George H. W. Bush "No Child Left Behind" bill became law. If you've forgotten what it required, here's a little refresher. Schools which receive Title I funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 must make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in test scores. Ultimately, by 2014 every student is to be 100% proficient in math and reading according to state-set standards. This alone should raise eyebrows, for one state's standards are not to be checked by another's, so who's to know what is best for a national math and reading standard?

But there are other problems.

First, this is a federal law superseding what is state sanctioned territory, so states don't have to adhere to its requirements, but more on that later.

Second, schools that don't meet the standards will be forced to initially develop an improvement plan; by the third year of failing to meet AYP, free tutors to failing students will be offered; by the sixth year of failure the school may be turned into a charter school, a private company hired to run it or the state office of education; or it may just be shut down. Since the law's enactment, various schools have been shut down as a result. So what's a poor school to do?-poor here taken literally, for it is usually the schools in poorer cities that get shut down.

Because the effect of poor test results can be quite devastating, to avoid being taken over by the state or shut down, many schools have simply lowered test standards-certainly encouraged by the dummying down of text books to increase inclusion mentality brought about in the 70s. Today, close to twenty states have lowered standards in reading or math or both.

Some schools even do what is called "creative reclassification" with drop-outs to reduce unfavorable statistics.

Another issue is teaching to the test. If teachers know that the math test, for example, will ask students rote knowledge / skill items rather than well-constructed, high-order items that's what will be taught. A teacher may get the students to understand how to produce the right answer but not teach more practical applications. Teaching to the test is oftentimes limiting and narrow in focus. And keep in mind that a good portion of grades three through eight spend a great deal of time preparing for these tests, so how much of the rest of their education is being sacrificed to the tests?

Another problem arises because of the pressure put on schools to achieve minimal standards in reading, writing, and arithmetic, programs for gifted students are often neglected.

There is also the narrow curriculum effect of students losing out on a broad education. Three quarters of public school principles believe that art, social studies, foreign languages, and even physical education have been slighted to a great degree. Some principles believe that because of the NCLB, obesity has increased with a lack of focus on physical education.

Another issue, brought up previously, is the fact that the direction of schooling traditionally and constitutionally is done at the state level. States don't have to comply with the NCLB law, but if they want funding they do.

But is 100% efficiency possible?

Well, it's actually 95% because students with learning disabilities are taken into consideration. But not every student is equal in skill, ability, and development. Some students are just not "proficiently" gifted in math and reading / writing.

Since 2001, however, there has been no great improvement in reading and math scores. Some educators and administrators are yelling that they'd better get going and fast to meet the 2014 deadline. But there are others who say that the NCLB needs to be scraped all together.

In February 2007, the Aspen Commission on No Child Left Behind, announced the release of the Commission's final recommendations for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. The Commission is an independent, bipartisan effort to improve NCLB and ensure it is a more useful force in closing the achievement gap that separates disadvantaged children and their peers. After a year of hearings, analysis and research, the Commission uncovered the successes of NCLB, as well as provisions which need to be changed or significantly modified.

The Commission's goals are summarized as follows:

• Effective Teachers for All Students, Effective Principals for All Communities
• Accelerating Progress and Closing Achievement Gaps Through Improved Accountability
• Moving Beyond the Status Quo to Effective School Improvement and Student Options
• Fair and Accurate Assessments of Student Progress
• High Standards for Every Student in Every State
• Ensuring High Schools Prepare Students for College and the Workplace
• Driving Progress Through Reliable, Accurate Data
• Parental involvement and empowerment

Whether it is the Aspen Commission or another group, the NCLB over the last eight years has severely under performed. There are too many problems: excess focus on testing, limited education, and states fearful of punishment and lack of funding who avoid creative curriculums that excite students and encourage learning.

Ultimately, education needs to first and foremost begin with parents and their commitment to their children's future. Why parents are rarely in the picture in regards to our children's education is a mystery to me. They must be trained to work with their children and teachers to improve education to instill an enthusiasm for learning, not merely producing students who are grade focused and purge information after testing like it's poison. I've seen thousands of students over the years who not only lack an enthusiasm for learning but go about their education like zombies merely waiting out the week for the weekend.

In today's unsure, shifting job market mere math and writing skills won't cut it. As a matter of fact, the majority of those in the work force don't use or need to know anything beyond basic math. High math, algebra to calculus, is required only by 5% of the workforce which works as engineers, scientists, architects, and so on. The majority of jobs do not require high end skills. We certainly don't want to get behind other countries technically, but the greatest efforts should be focused on creating life-long learners, those with an enthusiasm for learning, and a focus on transferable skills: critical thinking, creativity, intuitive thought, a passion for learning and a compassion for helping fellow humans.