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Position on Primary and Secondary education, against the No Child Left Behind.
One of the Bush Administrations most touted accomplishments in “education reform” in the No Child Left Behind act, which establishes, according to them “accountability in education”. In reality what the NCLB act does is put a tremendous burden on educators and local school districts while failing to provide adequate funding. According to National Education Association president Reg Weaver the NCLB act has been “underfunded by approximately 40 billion”, and “approximately 80% of school districts say they have costs associated with the program not covered by federal funding”. (Source: NEA website). According to an extensive report published by the civil rights project at Harvard University as states have gotten fed up with the NCLB they have individually negotiated initiatives with the federal government to alter how “Annual Yearly Progress”, a key backbone of the initiative that measures improvement, is calculated and what statistical methods are used. This has led to hodge podge of different evaluation methods that have led to a reduction in the number of districts that are “identified for improvement” but not necessarily an increase in the quality of education in those districts.
The fact that the NCLB focuses solely on test scores has led to an erosion of electives offered in schools and an unhealthy narrowing of educational focus. As schools face cost restrictions the type of tests offered are often “dumbed down” by making them multiple choice instead of essay so they are cheaper to grade. Connecticut, a state where standardized tests include numerous essay and non-multiple choice questions, even sued the federal government because the funding providing for NCLB did not cover the costs of grading these tests. The advice given to the state: switch to multiple choice tests. What does the NCLB really achieve with standardized testing then? It creates a HUGE incentive for states to make their tests simpler to avoid being labeled “failing” and to use multiple choice tests to save money, meaning students have to think less critically. (Source: NY times article)
The real key to improving education is attracting more talented and motivated teachers; to do this teacher salaries must be improved. The state of Florida ranks in the bottom five in education spending nationally. There are teachers who live in Florida but drive across the border to Georgia or Alabama every day to teach because the pay is so much higher, this is inexcusable. Improving teacher salaries and spending on education at both the state and federal level is an absolute necessity. The NCLB, while noble in its goals, has NOT worked in helping improve education due to its standardized testing focus and lack of funding. The Democratic Party at UCF fully supports expanding education spending and shifting the way standardized tests are used. One proposal is to use the FCAT at the beginning of the year and grade them quickly this way student who perform poorly can be identified early and get extra help as the year goes on.
Weblinks:
Harvard University report
NY times article
National education association
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