No Child Left Behind

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As most of you Americans know, No Child left Behind requires standardized testing in each state, such as regents (as it is in New York, where I live.) As a result, teachers are forced to teach to the test, and focus on such material as imaginary numbers (in math) or chemical formulas, or whatever, in whatever subject, which are never going to be used. They should be focused on critical thinking skills, which every child can use. And I know they can teach us both at the same time, and they should, but they're not. They are teaching to the test, and children ARE getting left behind. My mom teaches the GED program at the local community college, and a lot of her children, despite having "graduated" middle school, and even a couple years in high school, do not know their multiplication tables. because of no child left behind, however, the schools are forced to promote them anyways, or face penalties. So, what do they do? They promote them to the next grade! No Child Left Behind is causing countless children to be left behind, and should be either repaled or reformed!

Wait one more year...the dems will be in office and get rid of this pointless program to teach kids to be memorising drones and nonanyletical persons....(hopefully).

Many teachers agree with you. It all of my teaching classes, NCLB has been knocked as "broken, but working on paper".

It's a nice idea, having schools be responsible for the "quality" of the education their student receive. Unfortunately it doesn't work in RL and ends up being detrimental to students, especially those with special needs.

No Child Left Behind doesn't help kids, it punishes them.

stupid program. teachers shouldnt teach students how to get good grades. they should teach the process, the understanding, the concept.

Its sounds quite effective: if you can sucessfully manage to hinder & obstruct the teaching of anything worthwhile then, technically, you wont be leaving anyone behind

I'm sympathetic to NCLB as having a set of skills that all children need to be taught is superior to the previous system of not teaching students anything in particular. I've looked at school curriculum over the years and it has gotten much better in many ways.

The curriculum requirements I have no problem with. The accountability factors I have no problem with (and wish the teachers' unions could be crushed so they could be expanded). The bigger problems come with poorly designed tests and beaurocratic busywork.

Except most teachers weren't teaching that either.



Social promotion has nothing to do with NCLB. Matter of fact, social promotion has been curbed a bit in the last decade.

I do not like how the system apparently focuses on tests. I prefer people having to work on one concept and present it later. I learned more from these assignments than from revising for exams.

Maybe "No Child Left Behind" is the reason I'm struggling in school!

At least in New York the Regents is a respected exam.

I come from the state that has the FCAT....

yes everyone Florida.

where one Bush's folly became another's crusade.

There are high schoolers that have to be taught how to add. (I am not talking dumb, just "oh he's having issues, move onto another child that isn't, he'll get help next year) Until it reaches the level where they can't leave until they can pass a test, then it is all, remedial math class, remedial english. It starts with that first teacher who is willing to pass a child that doesn't qualify or the parent, whose child gets held back and fights the system, going "NO child gets left behind, which means mine should move forward."

It is a stupid program. Yes the schools should be accountable for what they teach. That is why they have curriculum they have to follow. I came from the blossoming time when it first came out, they were still phasing out the HSCT when I started high school.

They were literally teaching the test (I know how to figure out standardized test score probabilty when you eliminate an answer or two and know what types of wording the wrong vs right answers will have) They have supposedly put a stop to this. We literally had one day a week when we did nothing in class but FCAT prep and I was in honors and Gifted classes.

so no not a fan of No Child Left Behind Act

This is the reason I have no chance of graduating from high school because the increased graduation requirements This actully punishes children and makes them depressed and want to drink. if your an adult imangine you never get a paycheck then before you can go home you must do a series of things and your fate hinges on it.

well i graduated from high school in 2000 but i can say in california they were working on the no child left behind when i was in school, I had a 3.8 gpa and a honor roll student all though school, and i almost didn't graduate from high school cause of the tests. of course they removed it before i graduated, but theres alot of problems with it, here are several videos on the no child left behind by teachers, students from youtube.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTzLILQx3c[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6VHgPpFqXo[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj1h48CCzSo[/youtube]

i wonder if this is why school shootings are happening as well.

First, there was no NCLB in 2000. NCLB was passed in 2001. Whatever test you took was California mandated.

Second, why should you have graduated from high school if you couldn't pass a test? Why is there a problem with students being asked to pass a minimum threshold before getting their diploma?

It sucks that a high school diploma has become nothing more than a certificate of attendance.

well theres a problem cause not all the students were being taught which was on the test, ok perhaps it was state test or not but i was told if i didn't pass the test i wouldn't graduate, they removed it couple months before i graduated.

Okay question:

Do you think it's a good idea for doctors (even if they graduate with honors) to have to pass a test before getting their license? How about lawyers, teachers, accountants, etc.. All these professions require their practitioners to pass a cold-hearted test before they let people practice. They don't care what letter grade you received in college or whether they did or didn't teach it to you.

If a potential doctor had the gall to whine to me that he should be allowed to cut me up because his grade-inflated classes said that he was an A student but a cold-hearted test said that he wasn't up to snuff, I'd laugh in his face and certainly never allow him to practice medicine on me.

What makes you so special that you got a diploma despite not being able to pass a test proving that you had mastered enough material to deserve it?

Your diploma is worthless and you're complaining because someone wanted to make it mean something. Bah!

Thomas1138, lol i'm not complaining i'm just stating that there was problems with the tests, i'm not saying its right or wrong but i believe they need to revise the test and make sure everyone who takes it actually was taught the material. also high school is not a job career or doctors office, so comparing it to doctors license or whatever doesn't really make since, since to become a doctor you have to had way more then a high school diploma, i've have done pretty well in my life, had good jobs and such even with only a high school diploma.

I pretty much am stuck but i have thought about doing online college and go for ph.D in physcology. But i don't really know if I really want to do that as not sure if thats the career route i want to go, i'm 28 yrs old and on permanent disability. So I don't even know what i'm gonna do with my life, cause based on my diagnoses theres a really rare chance of being able to work again anymore. thanks to back pain and spinal problems, as well as the mental health problems i have. well I made $18 an hour in the grocery industry in the past for 4 years, I think thats pretty good pay for just a high school diploma, of course they made changes and now the grocery industry doesn't pay that much anymore. Anyway i'm not saying having a test to graduate in high school isn't bad but the no child left behind law as it is right now is screwed up..