Accountability for Education

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses that the so-called No Child Left Behind program has been a key educational initiative promoted by the Bush Administration, which claims that the program means accountability, that children are helped by the program, and that the program should in fact be expanded so as to assure that children receive the education they deserve. On the other hand, the writer notes that critics find that the law is ineffective, that the program does not serve the needs of children at all, that what happens is that teaching is changed so everyone teaches to the test so children can pass, that children are not really being educated at all and that the program might work if redesigned. The writer maintains that the evidence does show that the program does more to make schools look good to parents without actually improving education. The writer concludes that teaching to make certain students pass a standardized test does little to educate those children in how to think, and the test only gives political leaders a false belief that they are improving education and accountability when they are only adding a new layer of uncertainty and confusion.

From the Paper:

"Critics of the legislation see it as a broad attack on public education in favor of federal control. The irony is that this approach comes from the Republican Party, which has long fought against any federal role in education at all, and in truth, even under the No Child Left Behind Act the party only sees value in federal control if the federal government is controlled by Republicans.
"Criticisms of the No Child Left Behind program come from several different perspectives. One group sees the program as another unfounded federal mandate, and more than 20 states and school districts across the country have objected to the regulations and with the way the program is funded. A survey in 2005 showed that almost half the stets then had testing programs in place for reading and math, but the report also showed that the number of schools cited as needing improvement had doubled over the last year."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cochran-Smith, Marilyn. "No Child Left Behind: 3 Years and Counting." Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 56, Issue 2 (2005). April 25, 2007. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5009261632.
• Conley, Mark W. and Kathleen A. Hinchman. "No Child Left Behind: What It Means for U.S. Adolescents and What We Can Do about It The No Child Left Behind Act Promises All Students a Better Chance to Learn, but Does That Promise Include Adolescents?" Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Volume 48, Issue 1 (2004). April 25, 2007. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5007207981.
• "Fact Sheet: No Child Left Behind Act." The White House (January 2002). April 25, 2007. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020108.html.
• "'No Child Left Behind' Act/ESEA." NEA (2007). April 25, 2007. http://www.nea.org/esea/index.html.
• Neill, Monty. "Making Lemonade from NCLB Lemons." Rethinking Schools (Fall 2003). April 25, 2007. http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bushplan/nclb181.shtml.

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