<p>The NCLB act is a major law controlling our country's struggling education system. NCLB essentially shoots "for the middle ground". An easing of NCLB, as discussed by the article, perhaps sheds some light at the end of the tunnel for this legislation. </p>
<p>What do you think of the legislation as a high school student? How does it affect your life? Do you feel you are constantly being taught to standardized tests? Discuss!</p>
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What do you think of the legislature as a high school student? How does it affect your life? Do you feel you are constantly being taught to standardized tests? Discuss!
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LOL Are you going to grade us too? ;) </p>
<p>Actually though, many schools are "taught the test." However, at my High School we don't have as many state mandated end of course tests and therefore focus more on actual learning.</p>
<p>The NCLB is horrible. First of all, it's testing a school as a whole based on the way the students test? That's ridiculous, some people aren't good test takers. ALso, the dumbest part is that if a school is given a failing grade, they get a certain amount (im not aware how much exactly) of their funding for the school taken away. That doesn't make sense, the failing schools are the ones who need more money, and yet they are having their money taken away?</p>
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Actually, when I went over that very last line, it sort of reminded me of discussion board assignments for online classes.
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Please respond to two different students on two different days. XD</p>
<p>I think that the 90th percentile (and especially those of us in the 99th for Christ sake) and above should be considered differently than the other students in whether or not we gifted students are being served. The same for those below 30th or 20th percentile. </p>
<p>Teachers get higher salaries if everyone meets their goals and so on and so forth. However, we keep throwing money at inner-city schools, and it doesn't help them one bit. You know what they use it for? Better buses and such... and starting a AP Calculus BC class whose top students literally have not been able to beat ANY pre-cal students at other schools on a pre-cal and calculus test for many years. </p>
<p>Also, the Special ed classes at schools are typically YEARS behind other students, and yet they have to take the same end of grade and end of course classes we do. </p>
<p>Some people may not be good test takers, but you know when people understand something or not. 40% of an easy test like most state exams is not true understanding...</p>
<p>Honestly, we should just separate people into levels percentile (I know that's mean) and serve them there.
1-19 (What do you even do here?)
20-40
41-60
61-84
85-94
95-99 </p>
<p>In these levels, students are better served... however I don't believe it is our job to force an education on anyone. </p>
<p>But of course, we treat standardizing as a good thing, which it isn't.</p>
<p>As far as I'm concerned, NCLB looks really good on paper, but as soon as it was impelemented it obviously has failed. I know that funding is a huge issue across the board. Like others said above they take money away if a school fails, but no only that, it requires the schools to pay for the testing. That can get a bit expensive and if the school doesn't have the money to start with how's that going to help? </p>
<p>But I guess when it really comes down to it, NCLB doesn't really affect me at all. I live in CT so even before NCLB was inacted, we already had yearly standardized testing. As far as teaching for the test, yes obviously this happens, but generally speaking it's stuff we should know and it's simply encorperated into the curriculm at our school. Rarely do teachers say "Oh, you need to know this for the CMT or CAPT testing." But then again, when you're in honors/AP classes they generally assume that you know the basics.</p>
<p>I go to a school that is most definitely not failing, so really there is no need for teachers to teach for the test. In fact, sophomore year before we had CAPT testing, it was only two or three days before it that there was even mention of the test and strategies. Also, perhaps this is just my school, but the general consensus among students was that the test is ridiculously easy. </p>
<p>Honestly, the only standardized test we worry about in our school is the SAT. lol</p>
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However, we keep throwing money at inner-city schools, and it doesn't help them one bit. You know what they use it for? Better buses and such... and starting a AP Calculus BC class whose top students literally have not been able to beat ANY pre-cal students at other schools on a pre-cal and calculus test for many years.
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careful with those generalizations... my inner-city school (and all other schools in the district) doesn't offer busing for its students i.e. we have to pay our own way to go to school. your AP calc example is quite opposite from my experience... in pre-calc last year, we learned a particular subject (i can't remember what it was, off-hand) that the AP Calc AB students (my friends & acquaintances) just learned for the first time this year at their suburban school (our SAT math score average is substantially greater than theirs, and our math students, as a whole, are much better than theirs, too)... I will admit (and often complain) that NCLB is quite damaging-many kids, like someone else mentioned, are "taught-to-the-test", and the already high-achieving students are held back while the lower performing students often can't make it up to par... it's no small the country('s education system) is headed in a downward spiral... what's the alternative? i don't know-better teachers? better parents? better students? i just don't know...</p>
<p>A few that harshly impact our school district, which is quite diverse (not a euphemism: kids headed to Harvard as well as migrant workers' kids who change schools twice each year and have few English language skills and everybody in between.):</p>
<p>If a single student, who:
does not have English as his/her first language
has a learning disability
is not white,
tests poorly, he/she is included in each of the aforementioned categories for the purpose of scoring the school. The white, English speaking student without a learning disability is counted once. This skews the ratings.</p>
<p>With such a large transient population, we have an unusually high number of recent transfers at any given time. Yet, our schools are evaluated, to a significant degree, on the basis of the performance of students whom have been educated somewhere else. </p>
<p>Our new Spanish-speaking students must take the test in English.</p>
<p>I think that our teachers, for the most part, work miracles every day. And the diversity is one of the reasons we chose to remain in this area. The experience has certainly benefited our son, who is now at a fine university.</p>
<p>The ratings that our schools receive as part of NCLB are not reflective of the schools. I think that NCLB is based on an Ozzy and Harriet model of American life, where everyone stays put and relationships with students last K-12.</p>
<p>I think there are really wide discrepancies within the system. For example, my school has been on a NCLB list for two years or so. This year, we had 30 national merit finalists. Seems odd, right?</p>
<p>My school is in like a prohabtionary period. Our scores are very low. The way I see it, is not everyone is meant to be great students or smart. The world needs trade people and factory workers.</p>
<p>It's definitely one of the bad pieces of legislation the Bush administration allowed. Kind of funny how bad educational acts aren't vetoed, yet a ban on torture is. Hmmm. </p>
<p>Anyway, from my perspective, it just ends up being kind of silly after a while. The Arizona test is actually passable (I know other states have some interesting additions like a science exam) and I really do think that if one can't pass the exam, then one doesn't deserve a diploma. Professors have actually examined the test and even supported my conclusion that the test is, indeed, passable. However, our education becomes super constrained to just the AIMS (our NCLB test)- there are in fact courses designed just so that kids can pass the test, which is pathetic. If we want students to be well-rounded, we can't force them to take silly courses like AIMS Math and substitute practical applications of the materials they use on the exam. </p>
<p>Plus, of course, there's no money to fund this entire program, but that's another argument.</p>
<p>NCLB is promoting racism in my school. Anything that categorizes people based on the color of their skin is inherently racist. Our superintendent is mostly concerned with raising minority scores. Our school has a tutoring program, and I've never been asked to tutor a white student without a learning disability.</p>
<p>The problem with the NCLBA is that a good deal of resources at my school are dedicated to remedial classes. The school tells us that advanced courses are doing fine - "What's the problem? We still have a strong AP and IB program!"</p>
<p>Well, yes we do. However, the program is strong for the mid-range IBers like most of my friends. Like aigiqinf, the specialized programs at my school are under attack from the school's recent efforts to bring up standardized scores. </p>
<p>The result? Calculus 3 was almost canceled this year because the administration nearly forced the teacher to teach math lab (how to add, multiply and divide fractions). Last year the IB computer science kids were stuffed in the same room at sophomores using computers to take classes they failed their freshman year online. They still don't have their own class this year either - it's highly annoying to be working on documenting your code, only to have the kid next to you ask "what's a plane?" The IB physics HL and SL classes were combined this year so that the teacher would have another class period free to teach general science this year to sophomores - a class that now has 3x the enrollment now that the state testing has added science subsections in addition to english, math and reading.</p>
<p>I'm telling you, this act is really starting to anger me. I couldn't get advanced programs in elementary school or middle school and I barely missed getting them removed from me during high school. I desire the best education for myself - but how is this possible as a white, not-first-generation male applying to the top schools? Since affirmative action works against me, my only alternative is to provide stellar credentials that surpass most other applicants. If this trend continues across the board, white public school males will become a top-college rarity.</p>
<p>The problem with NCLB is that it puts more money towards the lower achieving students. That is downright idiotic. The future economic/technological growth of any country is virtually always dictated by the highest performers. We need to make sure the top 33% (by natural intelligence) is getting taught the skills to be competitive in the world marketplace.</p>
<p>Good thing about NCLB:
-Separates the test scores by race, socio-economic status, and ability. It makes sure that students in different groups are recieving equal education.</p>
<p>Bad things about NCLB:
-EVERY SCHOOL HAS TO BE AT 100% BY 2014. I'm sorry, but everyone passing is just NOT possible. The kids taking the test include people who have just come to this country and don't know the language, kids in the special education department, and kids that just aren't good at testing.
-If schools do NOT reach 100%, then eventually all the teachers are fired.
-Schools cut funding for art/music/advanced classes</p>
<p>And I think it's sort of selfish to not like NCLB just because they cancelled a higher level class to teach remediation. All students should be able to do simple math and all students should be able to read- the education system needs to provide EVERYONE with tools to get a job and do well, not just the smartest kids. That's what the education system is for- EVERYONE deserves an education and if it means helping out the kids that don't understand or do as well, then they have to do that.</p>
<p>Poor, underprivledged, kids from the city can't pay 1000s for extra education- they should get what they need from public education. It's more important for everyone to be able to do simple math and reading than for me to be able to integrate. I'd give up my calc any day for that.</p>
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The problem with NCLB is that it puts more money towards the lower achieving students. That is downright idiotic. The future economic/technological growth of any country is virtually always dictated by the highest performers.
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<p>I completely agree. Effective or not in achieving its goals, a policy that throws resources at the bottom of the barrel does not help the future of this country. This is the dismal road to a welfare state - something that has already been proved ineffectual.</p>