Comment on: Re: No Child Left Behind Act- For it or against it?

Bigthink — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 03:09:53 +0100

Being a teacher, I empathize with your opinion and wholeheartedly agree that NCLB is not serving its intended purpose. The only problem with your response, is that by your son missing the test - your school may not make Annual Yearly Progress. You ask, "So what?"

Without AYP being met, Federal government steps in and begins telling the school how to run. This is worse...

I'm hoping for some sanity with our coming Administration. Every teacher I've met agrees with the intent of NCLB - but find MORE children are "getting left behind," as the system discourages teachers from getting students extra help they need now more than ever.

Even worse, schools who have been making AYP are getting no money at all - all the money goes to those who are failing...that makes no sense at all! We couldn't get 1 red cent for our classrooms this year, and have always made AYP so far. Of course, the bar keeps raising - and for students with severe disabilities, this is ludicrous - even abusive.

How about measuring students based on growth, instead of all being at the same level? After all, we all develop at different rates and human brains don't stop growing until we are in our 20's.

There are so many good ideas about how to improve public eduction...but instead, we are just enduring and hoping the system isn't just setting Public Schools up for failure so "vouchers," are approved.

I know there are a lot of good teachers out there who lose sleep over their students. How about letting the teachers rate the entities that are supposed to be supporting their classrooms? For example, we just adopted a new Math program this year. We start testing next month, and still have not received all our Math materials.

The only scores rated and published are the kids - and their teachers....

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Comment on: Re: No Child Left Behind Act- For it or against it?