Zachariah Jamison

English 111
Prof. Gustavo Monje

No Child Left Behind

The No Child Left Behind Act 2001 or NCLB was created for the
standardization of the education system in the United States. The reasoning
behind the Act was to allow all students to have the ability to advance and
excel on the same playing field. The positive points that have come from the
program have been disputed but the reason for creating the Act stays the
same. That reason is to allow those students who have little or nothing to
accelerate at the same pace as those who have the necessary implements to
do well. The Act does this through the use of standardized tests to configure
which schools get the funding they need for their level of education. The
NCLB is up for a re-written approval and vote and the information to follow is
there to help inform and lay out the reasoning behind the Act, to show the
positives to the program, and the negatives to this programs.
The reasoning behind the program was proposed by then President
George W. Bush. That proposal was then cooperatively written
by Representatives John
Boehner (R-OH), George
Miller (D-CA),
and
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH). The Act, then a
proposal, was submitted for a vote and was approved in the House on May
23, 2001. The Act was then ratified by the Senate on June 14, 2001. The
NCLB was then in the beginning stages of its implementation. The Act soon
showed the requirement for the schools to take accountability for what the
students learned lead to a higher level of achievement (No Child). The
accountability the schools took came from the standardizing across the
board. Every school had subjects they had to teach and things they had to
cover in order to receive governmental funding. The schools were to submit
goals they had to meet each year and make those goals or else funding and
rating were affected. Lastly, the Act was there to help students to overcome
their disadvantages whether physical, mental, or social status; this created a
level learning field where students were equals in the education field (No
Child Left).
The positives to the Act and its programs were fourfold; one, it would
require schools to make standards and goals to which they built to. This
created a competition of sorts for the funding they would get. The funding
would then stay at that school until they received more or their accreditation
fell and it would be revoked (Klein). This pushed the schools to create a
learning environment that helped students excel and achieve the goals that
were set in front of them. This push to create a good environment helped
reduce the learning gap for disadvantaged students, as well as reduced the
achievement gap for students. The Act also led to the improvement of test
scores across the board. Math and science, subject which before were second
hand to language and arts programs, became the forefront subjects and

Zachariah Jamison
English 111
Prof. Gustavo Monje

main focuses in schools. The rise in test scores had its impact on the schools
though and the parents of students came to realize it after time went on.
The negatives to the NCLB were not noticed right away but over time
they were realized and became major issues in the U.S.s education
programs. The major one was how the school made use of the loopholes in
the system. They found ways to game the system and squeeze as much
funding out of the government as they could. This led to the issue of the
teachers being restricted on what they could teach and only teaching the
required topics for the NCLB funding to be sure the school got the most
penny for their dollar. The teachers only teaching these minute subjects
made the broadness of the subjects they taught very tunnel-like, thus in
reality only teaching what was on the test. The teachers who taught at these
schools were forced to only teach what the system wanted them to not what
made the students interested in the subject and kept their attention. Not
only did the teachers realize the gaming of the system, but the parents of
the students as well. They saw the tunnel-like teaching going on and many
decided to pull their children out of the public system and homeschooled
their children instead (Cox). They did so that their children might go deeper
and study topics that interested them as well so they could focus on subjects
that were deemed unnecessary by the NCLB programs; programs such as
cursive and art programs, as well as a broader version of history topics and
sentence structuring. The other issue with the NCLB programs was there
wasnt much room for gifted students to move (Cox). The students were
required to learn specific topics and could not accelerate ahead of other
students but rather had to wait until the entire class was ready to move
forward so as to not leave any student behind on the subject. This lack in
progression led to many kids becoming uninterested in school for lack of
forward progression.
The No Child left Behind Act was created for the betterment of the
United States education program; it was created for the students who
couldnt keep up with the curriculum due to different circumstances. It had
many positives to it such as school funding, better test scores, forcing the
schools to make goals, and closing the achievement gap between students
making a more level schooling program. The forcing the schools to have a
higher standard and teach certain subjects led to a more standardized
schooling program. The real question is; do we want a more standardized
schooling program or one that allows the schools and teachers the wiggle
room to teach what interests the students the most? Do we want a program
that helps one group of students and denies the flexibility for another or one
that allows the flexibility for all students to put themselves in a place of
education they wish for themselves? Lastly, do you want to force a student
to learn what they have no want to learn or allow them to fail or succeed as

Zachariah Jamison
English 111
Prof. Gustavo Monje

they see fit? The No Child Left Behind Act is one answer to these questions
but could there be a better way to answer them, that is your decision?

"Archived: No Child Left Behind Act Is Working." Archived: No Child Left

Behind Act Is Working. 1 Dec. 2006. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
Carnoy, M., and S. Loeb. "Does External Accountability Affect Student
Outcomes? A Cross-State Analysis." Educational Evaluation and Policy
Analysis (2002): 305-31. Stanford Univesity. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
Cox, Rachel S. "Home Schooling Debate." CQ Researcher 17 Jan. 2003: 2548. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
"No Child Left Behind Extra Credit: Students With Disabilities Making Strides,
Study Finds." PsycEXTRA Dataset. Print.