THE END of February brings a series of tests mandated by "No Child Left Behind," coincidentally falling at the conclusion of a 10-month study of the controversial federal program released last week. A bipartisan task force from the National Conference of State Legislatures, comprised of representatives from all 50 states, released a report consolidating what many educators have been suspecting for some time: No Child Left Behind is in need of serious reevaluation and reform.
The No Child Left Behind Act passed overwhelmingly in the Senate 87 to 10 in 2001 and was signed into law by President Bush in January 2002. The initiative provides increased federal funding for public schools and requires greater accountability for students, teachers and the nation's 15,000 school districts, based on standardized tests. NCLB mandates yearly state-run testing in third through ninth grade, plus at least one additional set of tests in high school. Schools that repeatedly fail to meet the standards set forth by the act must pay for their students' transportation to alternative school districts and private tutoring for their students.
Although the Bush administration touts NCLB as overwhelmingly successful, in truth the program has continued to be severely under-funded since its implementation began in 2002. Despite increasing education funding by 33 percent since 2001, the administration's submitted budget for 2004 fell $9.6 billion short of what was approved for 2004 by the NCLB Act. The 2003 funding was a slight improvement, falling $7.2 billion short of what was promised. The "unfunded mandate," as it was labeled unanimously by the bipartisan National Governors Association, continues to strain our school systems, forcing teachers and school administrators to shoulder the brunt of complicated social issues that unfortunately cannot be miraculously solved in the classroom.
Among the impossible NCLB regulations cited by the National Conference of State Legislatures is the requirement that 90 percent of students with disabilities test proficiently in reading and math by the year 2013. It requires students, regardless of age and ability, to test at the grade level they should be enrolled in, rather than the grade they are currently attending.
The report stated that NCLB is in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). According to The New York Times, a 13-year-old student with learning disabilities who follows a sixth grade curriculum is required to take the standardized tests mandated for eighth grade. Pressuring disabled and special-needs students to either perform at the level of their peers or fail violates IDEA's requirement that schools adapt and develop a unique program to fit the different needs of each child that qualifies for IDEA's protections. Any policy that violates IDEA further disadvantages disabled and special-needs children.
In addition to the immense stress placed on special-needs students to compete with their peers at grade level, the pressure of annual standardized tests takes a toll on both students and teachers, as classroom time is budgeted to incorporate test preparation. Under NCLB, children as young as third grade spend class time learning how to shade in bubbles with number two pencils.
The National Education Association, representing 2.7 million teachers and school administrators nationwide, endorsed a statement last October, along with numerous other teaching associations, expressing concern over the nature of NCLB tests, which are designed by the states. The teaching associations agreed that NCLB laws are "narrowing curriculum and instruction to focus on test preparation rather than richer academic learning" and "overemphasizing standardized testing."
Some of the alternatives proposed by numerous educators and legislators would encourage a decrease in the achievement gap without placing such an emphasis on testing.
First of all, fully funding the initiative would allow schools the chance to adhere to many of the principles set forth by NCLB, with the focus on decreasing the socioeconomic achievement gap. Re-evaluating the emphasis placed on testing, especially with regard to disabled and special-needs students, would reduce the stress placed on teachers and students to allot extensive class time to teach towards the test.
School performance, parental involvement and teacher quality can be effectively indicated by factors such as retention rate, absenteeism, school safety records and availability of honors and AP courses, none of which are currently required to be reported. Significant changes in the No Child Left Behind policy are needed to provide an efficient, fully-funded and workable program that is worthy of its admirable goals.
Sophia Brumby is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.
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