No Child Left Behind

Essay by Starscout99High School, 10th gradeA-, July 2014

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Kristian Henriksen Shea

Mrs. Reduzzi

English 10 HL

10 March 2014

No Child Left Behind

The law known as No Child Left Behind, NCLB, has caused many problems for the American educational system. "In addition, it forces teachers to "teach to the test," spending far too much time on test-taking strategies rather than learning" (Hobart). NCLB is harmful to the American economy and educational system and should not continue to receive funding from the federal government. No Child Left Behind should be revoked or revised because it punishes public schools for poor performance on standardized tests, favors private schools over public schools, and focuses the curriculum around preparing for standardized tests.

No Child Left Behind was designed to give students of all minorities and abilities a fair shot at education. The law was enacted by the George W. Bush administration on January 8, 2001. NCLB was created to give all students, no matter their race, religion, or class, a fair shot at higher education.

Many people have criticized the law for hindering lower level students as well as higher level students. "The No Child Left Behind Act harms more students than it helps, bringing down higher tier students when it should be helping lower tier catch up" (Debate.org). Although many people do oppose NCLB, there are some who believe it has done some good.

Many Special Education advocates are wary of relaxing testing rules. Some disability rights advocates fear that high standards for disabled could and will be sacrificed as states start to seek more flexibility around NCLB. They believe that the changing of NCLB is a step away from grade level achievement for disabled students. These advocates argue that Special Education students need the rigid guidelines that NCLB provides if they are to succeed in...