Loddie1
Loddie1 , Parent asks:
Q:
We have all heard the term "No Child Left Behind" when referring to the public sector of education. How do you feel about this title/law?
How does NCLB affect you as an educator? Does it make your job easier, harder, or the same? Why?Do you feel the name is misleading in anyway? If so, why? What would be a better name for this law?
In Topics: Helping my child with social studies / history
> 60 days ago

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Expert

Allyn Anderson
Oct 4, 2009
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What the Expert Says:

Although the thinking behind "No Child Left Behind" appears to be sound, most states were developing their own standards of learning before this legislation came on the scene. I strongly support standards and doing whatever it takes to help children learn. However, when a public school is scoring well above passing, e.g. over 90%, there is often NOT the expected growth as required by law, which puts this school at risk of not receiving passing grades when evaluated --- this school may be scoring well over 90% in all areas, yet it may receive a "failing" rating. I believe it is important to recognize that this legislation applies only to public schools --- not to private or church related programs.
 
In today's world, schools are facing changing demographics. Educators are faced with teaching and getting "all" students to pass the standards tests, regardless of one's special education label. The problem is compounded with our increasing cultural diversity; schools across the United States must have children take the exam even if they have lived in the U.S. for only a short period of time and who speak languages other than English.
 
Once testing is done, an evaluation of all categories is made. These include various ethnic categories, as well as those receiving free/reduced lunches, special education, or English for Language Learners. Commonly, individual children fall into and are evaluated in several categories. This alone can have a significant negative impact on schools. The most impact is felt at the middle school level, since most elementary schools do not have the required 50 student minimum in order to assess a category.

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Additional Answers (1)

CreativeRachna
CreativeRac... , Child Professional, Teacher writes:
NCLB, or No Child Left Behind is a great starting point for educational standards in the United States.  It basically requires students to pass exams at the end of every grade level before moving onto the next grade.  
 
It may or may not make the job of an educator more difficult; it depends on the school, demographic, and level of students.  If you teach in an area where the students are consistently below grade level and struggle to pass the exams, it can pose problems.  Learning centers such as Sylvan team up with school districts who pay them for after school tutoring to get students up to par on passing their star exams.
 
The name is accurate in my opinion, because it requires us not to leave any child behind in the educational arena.  Whether it's truly successful or not will take a few years to assess.  
 
I'm including an Education.com article explaining the goals of NCLB
 
http://www.education.com/reference/article/goals-no-child-left-behind/
 
Great question,
I hope I've answered some of your questions.  
Thanks,
Rachna
> 60 days ago

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