Union-busting NCLB turns nation's public schools into 'no-think zones'

[Joanne98]

DILLINGHAM - In January 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law by President George W. Bush. This federal mandate enforces standards-based education reform centered on high student academic standards. So far so good.


Unfortunately, these standards are measured by standardized testing, which consist of a series of questions (often multiple-choice) generated for entire groups of students. Educational officials estimate that 100 million or more of these tests are administered to students across the United Sates every year.

NCLB requires that every child’s public school academic performance from grades 3rd through 12th be measured by standardized tests. These mandates place enormous pressure on teachers to raise test scores. As a result, the academic curriculum in schools nationwide has largely shifted primarily to the skills being measured on these standardized tests.

As a result, I believe public schools are neglecting many of the time-honored learning experiences long considered staples of a well-educated person. In their place comes so-called "education" presented in a way many people believe harms, rather than helps, true student learning. Fortunately, alternatives to the homogenization of standardized testing to measure learning are gaining support among educators across the United States, but NCLB is little help.

Most standardized tests typically focus only on reading, writing, and mathematical skills; consequently, these areas receive special attention in public schools. In 2007, for example, 62 percent of schools in the United States reported increased class time spent on English language arts and math, with 72 percent of schools cutting back on time spent on science, social studies, art, music, and physical education, according to the Center on Educational Policy in Washington, DC. With English and math becoming public schools’ main curricular focus in recent years, this narrow approach has acquired a new name. It called "teaching to the test."

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