No Child Left Behind

Essay by letsroll_10University, Bachelor'sA, October 2007

download word file, 5 pages 4.0

The No Child Left Behind Act is a United States Federal Law that reauthorizes an amount of federal programs that seek to progress the performance of America's primary and secondary schools by increasing the standards of responsibility for states, as well as providing parents more flexibility in selecting which schools their children will attend. Many have questioned this program and its structured towards fixing the education problem in the U.S. Testing scores have not improved from this program and withholding money from the schools will only do more harm than good.

Many children in the United States experience reading failure. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on reading in 2003, 37% of fourth graders are reading below the Basic Proficiency level . Under NCLBs plan, all public schools students must be proficient in reading and math by the year 2014 . Only students in second grade and beyond are required to test.

In grades three through eight and once during high school, reading and math development will be calculated yearly. Testing in science will also be conducted by the end of the 2007-2008 school year . According to this program new teachers entering this field are required to acquire at least a bachelor's degree. Teachers that are not new must pass a test in which state they teach in that demonstrates their subject understanding and teaching abilities .

Each state has a curriculum structure. Each one summarizes the course of study by local school districts. This is how they develop programs directing state and local textbook adoption processes. Most states' average curriculum consists of English Language Arts, Mathematics, History/Social Science, and Science. Many states have no adopted standards in the remaining vicinities of curriculum such as foreign language, Physical Education and health .

Each year schools, school...