The Reason Why No Child Left Behind Act is Ineffective

As a classroom teacher with over thirteen years ofchoice tests that do not adequately measure
teaching experience, I am used to changes inknowledge. In fact, students can be taught to learn
curriculum and laws that affect my profession. Ithow to answer a multiple choice test without knowing
seems that when laws are enacted that will changecontent knowledge.
public education, teachers are not consulted at all.2. States are in charge of creating state tests and
When the No Child Left Behind law was enacted, Idetermining pass rates. Each state has a different
knew immediately that it was unrealistic and had verycurriculum and different definitions of what is proficient.
unattainable goals. How is it possible that 100% of allIn some states, students are required to only get 50%
students in the United States attain proficiency inof the questions correct in order to be labeled
reading and math? No matter how good a teacher Iproficient. That percentage is too low, and it easy for a
may be, there are outside forces that are beyond mystudent to guess the answers and pass the test.
control that should be considered. For example, if ISome states have created easier tests that allow
have five special education students and a studentmore students to pass. The reading and math
that is not fluent in English in my classroom, should I beproficiency tests are different levels depending on the
punished if they do not pass the test? If I have a childstate. As a result, we do not truly know what students
that missed 60 days of school, is it my fault that theyare proficient in reading and math.
fail to become proficient in reading and math?3. Holding Teachers and Schools Responsible for
No Child Left Behind is ineffective. Teachers now areAnnual Yearly Progress. The law places sole
spending their day focusing on preparing the studentsresponsibility of achievement on teachers and schools
for the state test and worrying about how they will beand no responsibility on parents. We cannot improve
viewed if the students fail. Since teachers do not haveeducation without their help. Parents must make sure
control of a student's study habits or parentalthat their children arrive to school everyday with the
participation, a lot of teachers feel that the teachingnecessary materials they need to learn. Parents must
profession is out of their control. We have manyalso make sure their children are studying. While we
students who come to school daily without anycannot legislate parent participation, we should find
materials and go home with no books, but we are allsome way to rate parents and hold them accountable
held to the same standard. We have students withfor their child's academic progress. Parents should be
learning disabilities in our classrooms who must passrequired to attend parent teacher conferences and
the same test as all of the other students. We alsoparticipate in their children's education.
have non-English proficient students that are expected4. Schools are not created equal. Studies show that
to read and pass the test. This is not fair to teachersstudents that come from middle class and wealthy
who work hard everyday to move students to thehomes perform better than students who come from
next level of learning.low income homes. The schools that middle class
There are several other reasons why No Child Leftstudents attend have more resources such as grant
Behind is ineffective:money, better facilities, and more parent participation. It
1. The law relies too heavily on standardized testis not fair to judge teachers who work at Title I
scores. Teachers know that there are many ways toschools. Title I schools tend to have more
assess students including writing, portfolios, andinexperienced teachers due to high turnover. Teachers
projects. In fact, we are encouraged to use manyat Title I schools must also deal with more social
types of assessments. Standardized tests are multipleproblems that are out of their control.