The Department of Education is allowing all 50 states to apply for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act. This law was created during the Bush administration. How will the waivers affect students who have special needs?
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB ) was created in 2001. The main purpose of this law was to make schools, and teachers, accountable for how well, (or how poorly), their students are learning. The criteria that is being used to determine which schools are doing well, and which are “failing”, comes from standardized testing.
The scores that come from standardized tests in reading, math, science, and other academic content are closely reviewed. The scores get broken down by the specific racial and socio-economic category that corresponds to each individual child who took the tests.
The schools whose test scores are good are rewarded with more funding. The schools whose test scores are below a certain standard are penalized. These schools may be labeled as “failing”, and may have a cut to the amount of funding they receive for the next school year.
The Department of Energy has invited all fifty states in America to apply for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act. The Obama administration believes that this will loosen federal “strings”, and let education reform happen on a state level. Critics are concerned that the removal of the NCLB laws will result in having more kids “fall through the cracks” in America’s schools.
One of the people who helped to write the No Child Left Behind Act is Sandy Kress. There is a quote from her that succinctly sums up most people’s fears about the waivers to NCLB. She said:
“If they do this right, it’s good. If they do it wrong, it’s a step backwards”.
Optimistically speaking, a school that gets a waiver from NCLB could provide many benefits to the students in that school. The removal of the emphasis on the scores from standardized testing would change things. It would mean that teachers wouldn’t have to take class time to instruct students how to do well on these tests. That time can be better used on academics.
The label “failing school” is damaging. This stigma can damage the sense of efficacy of both the teachers and the students who attend the school. It can also reduce the confidence that parents have about the school. Removing this label could make everyone feel more positive about their school, and positivity can really work wonders.
Opponents of the waivers fear that schools will return to “the bad old days”. They worry that without the NCLB Act, schools would no longer be accountable if they fail to provide a good education for students who have special needs. They fear that the result will be that schools will decide not to provide for those needs, in order to save money.
Image by Alberto G. on Flickr