Reading Response for NCLB

I decided to read the article by Andrew Rotherham titled "Making No Child Left Behind Work." For the most part, it seemed as if it was a laundry list of complaints. Rotherham makes his key point that NCLB, at the time when it was passed in 2001, had "some teeth" to it as there were accountability measures put in place, especially with a system that is embedded in standardized test scores. But, the majority of the article focuses on the shortcomings of NCLB as the past years have progressed.

Rotherham points out the widening gap of achievement that also seems to correlate to race and wealth (or lack thereof). Not to mention, we have turned our students into test-taking machines that pump out one assessment after another (I just gave mine a district writing assessment today). Coupled with other shortcomings of the U.S. Education system, Rotherham points to a complete lax of the accountability standards that were originally put in place. He argues that they need to be updated in order for NCLB to work. He cites that there are many schools out there that quality wise should be taken over, but because of lack standards that were originally put in place, schools slide under the radar.

In addition to tighter, updated standards, Rotherham pushes for more birth to 5 support for minority children and a healthy relationship between stakeholder interest and general interest, as too often there is a debate in that department. Rotherham wraps up with a push for parent and local official empowerment in education and a greater focus in research and development of educational practice and implementation, and not just a focus on "standards" and "choice."



Rotherham, Andrew J. "Making No Child Left Behind Work" U.S. News and World Report - Opinion Page. 1/12/10
http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2010/01/12/making-no-child-left-behind-work.html?PageNr=1