On Jan. 8, 2002, George W. Bush signed the “No Child Left Behind” education bill. Five years later, the public education system shows staggeringly poor results.
The education law was created supposedly to abolish the academic achievement gap between the poor and middle
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This is an illusion.
NCLB sets a goal of “100 percent proficiency scores” in math and reading for all children of color and from poor and working-class backgrounds by 2014. It makes schools and states responsible for meeting standards, and the schools are subject to a variety of penalties for failing to meet certain goals in a given time frame.
At least 24,470 U.S. public schools, or 27 percent of the national total, did not meet the federal requirement for “annual yearly progress” in 2004 and 2005. For the past six years, the majority of students have not been able to do the necessary grade-level math or English.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country, is facing significant problems. Many schools in East and South Los Angeles where the majority are Latino and African American are being affected the most.
At L.A.’s Abraham Lincoln High School in 2007, only 7 in 100 students could do grade-level math or English. At Woodrow High School, the number dropped to only 4 in 100. At John Adams Middle School, only 22 percent of students passed the state exams in English and math this year.
More than 1,000 of California’s 9,500 schools are labeled “chronic failures” and the numbers are growing.
In Florida, 441 schools are being threatened with closing and 30 percent of its schools are labeled as “failing” schools. In Maryland, 49 Baltimore schools have fallen short of achievement targets for five years or more. And in New York, 77 schools are going through “restructuring” measures. (New York Times, Oct. 16, 2007)
Schools that are being restructured are forced to fire the school’s administration and teachers.
Under NCLB, states must use standardized testing results as the way to measure and assess a student’s educational development. When results are negative, teachers are the ones who are blamed and are either transferred to other schools or fired.
NCLB also penalizes “non-performing” schools. A yearly report card showing up to five “poor” ratings may result in reopening the school as a charter school and a reorganization or shake-up of school staff.
Many large school districts are either breaking large schools into small schools or restructuring them as charter schools. In many cases, teachers lose union protection in charter schools.
Teachers often label the U.S. educational system as “factory-style learning.” Factory-style learning includes the standardization of a student’s educational progress, routine test-taking teaching methods, teaching from a script and lack of opportunities for students who want to aim for college.
NCLB has made it clear to teachers, parents and students that test-preparation skills are more important than instruction.
These negative educational trends have led to a significant loss of teachers and future teachers. Disgusted by the NCLB—which mistreats teachers and students alike—tens of thousands of current and potential teachers are shifting careers. The U.S. teacher demand is so bad that in the next few years about half of current teachers will retire. And the growth of new teachers is not even close to cover the demand throughout the country.
The U.S. educational system is plagued with the same “achievement gap” affecting working-class families and oppressed nationalities. NCLB has simply intensified the longstanding trends. Teaches are still attacked by the government, students’ wellbeing is still ignored, and the history of racism in the educational system continues.
No Child Left Behind should be left behind as we struggle for a new system where education is funded and accessible to all.
