An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the “No Child Left Behind” Act.
This paper examines how getting the best out of the students is the ultimate purpose of education and how it is the responsibility of instructors and educational policy makers to provide the best possible learning environment for the children. In particular, it looks at how the “No Child Left Behind” Act (NCLB) is a wake-up call for public school teachers and administrators to raise their standards of teaching to a new level of efficiency. It explores how the NCLB is a formidable task for the teachers, posing new administrative problems, and how these issues alone cannot be allowed to affect our commitment to the program, which promises a new hope and a new future for today?s American students.
“The direct consequence of the NCLB act is that it puts added pressure on the teachers to make the students perform well in the CAP (comprehensive assessment programs) given at the end of the year. A survey conducted revealed that majority of the public are not satisfied with the scheme of judging the performance based on a single test. [Lowell C. Rose] There are increasing reports of instances where teachers are taking to unethical methods to achieve the desired results. For example a recent situation in Tennessee schools project a rather bleak picture. Twenty-two public schools in Tennessee have been ordered to restructure their plans and to improve the performance in the next year failing which they would be taken over by the State.”