No Child Left Behind Act

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the criticism against the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002, which aims to close the achievement gap by holding school districts and states accountable, encouraging the use of flexible educational approaches and supporting parents' rights to school choice. It details the lawsuit filed by the state of Connecticut against the federal government claiming that the overall differences in levels of funding and costs to the state, due to NCLB, were preventing the state from more effectively using its resources. The paper goes on to describe the growing opposition to the Act.

From the Paper:

"Following Connecticut's lawsuit, other states, such as Colorado, Utah, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, and Virginia have passed similar resolutions critical of the law (Conrad 2005). Moreover, there is a growing number of teachers at the grass-root level that do not support the No Child Left Behind legislation, such as the San Francisco's Teachers for Social Justice, which tackle many issues affecting marginalized students and colleagues (Conrad 2005). While educators are organizing at the grass roots, teachers' unions and parents are publicly opposing the No Child Left Behind Act (Conrad 2005). In fact, this "one-size-fits-all" mentality is now being questioned by a growing number of state legislators, school administrators, and teachers who believe that the NCLB Act is actually hurting teacher preparation programs and places far too much emphasis on testing and reporting provisions, without adequate funding (Odland 2006). A 2004 study, has calculated that NCLB, over time, will result in the failure of all schools, based on mathematical flaws in the formulas for calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP) (Lemberger 2006)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Booher-Jennings, Jennifer. (2006 June 01). Rationing education in an era of accountability. Phi Delta Kappan. Retrieved November 27 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
• Conrad, Marguerite. (2005 September 22). No child left behind: who wins? who loses? Social Justice. Retrieved November 27 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
• Cooper-Duffy, Karena. (2003 September 22). Evidence-based practices for students with severe disabilities and the requirement for accountability in No Child Left Behind. Journal of Special Education. Retrieved November 27 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
• Gentry, Marcia. (2006 October 01). No Child Left Behind: gifted children and school counselors. Professional School Counseling. Retrieved November 27 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
• Lemberger, Matthew E. (2006 April 01). No Child Left Behind: implications for school counselors. Professional School Counseling. Retrieved November 27 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

More papers on No Child Left Behind Act:

• Analytical Essay # 73336 : "The No Child Left Behind Act"
• Essay # 66362 : "No Child Left Behind Act"
• Analytical Essay # 130818 : "The No Child Left Behind Act and Outcomes"
• Research Paper # 105508 : "The No Child Left Behind Act: An Analysis"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: