The "No Child Left Behind Act"

Paper Summary:

This paper attempts to determine if testing under the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB), signed into law in 2001 by President George Bush, is capable of accomplishing what it is intended to accomplish. The paper points out that NCLB was intended to address the needs of students to achieve proficiency in basic reading and mathematical skills. Prior to the implementation of NCLB, many youths throughout the country were exiting the educational system without possessing these skills and this hindered their ability to achieve personal and professional goals. As a solution, NCLB required each state to develop standardized testing that would produce test scores indicating each student's level and allowing officials to determine whether or not the schools were accomplishing their goals. The paper finds that one of the most significant issues is that each state's tests are not universal and in some states the tests are consistently changed, providing no clear evidence of progress that can be compared over time. The paper concludes that, for students struggling in school, state testing measures do not support the intention of NCLB and reduce the validity of the accountability of the educational system.

From the Paper:

"The text of the NCLB indicates that "each state may select and design assessments of their choosing" ("No Child", 2001, sec. 3). Wenning, Herdman, Smith, McMahon and Washington (2003) discuss the fact that in states such as Louisiana and Maryland the tests that have been developed to meet the mandates of NCLB are both norm-referenced and criterion based (sec. 2). According to Wenning, Herdman, Smith, McMahon and Washington (2003) this means that some students are tested on their "board knowledge" of a subject, while other students are tested on their specific knowledge of objectives associated with the curriculum in each state (sec. 2). As this consistently occurs the tests results that are gathered by the state and federal governments cannot be compared to one another because there is not a universal system of testing that occurs. Additionally, because the testing of students is determined by each state, some states alter the testing patterns given, further complicating the accountability and assessment process."

Sample of Sources Used:

• No Child Left Behind. (2001). The White House. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/reports/no-child-left-behind.html
• Public speaks out on no child left behind. (2006). Public Education Network. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://publiceducation.org/2006_NCLB/main/2006_NCLB_National_Report.pdf
• Questions. (2007). North Carolina Department of Education. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/
• Wenning, R., Herdman, P., Smith, N., McMahon, N., and Washington, K. (2003). No child left behind: Testing, reporting and accountability. Eric Digest. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-2/behind.html

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