Obama has plans to reform the Bush Administration’s No Child Left Behind Act, which has been criticized over and over again for being ineffective and even destructive to the education system. Designed to help bridge the achievement gap and to provide better education for all children, the law has proved problematic for focusing too much on statistics and punishing schools by taking away funding rather than providing incentive to do well.
Lately, the conversation has shifted. Now, teachers must be given rewards and greater incentive for job performance, to increase student success rates. The new law is equally as controversial as N.C.L.B., as critics consider it too ambitious and utopian.
Obama plans to keep some parts of N.C.L.B., such as annual testing, but will consider things such as attendance and graduation rates, instead of determining success by a numbers game. The new tests will measure that there was a demonstrated academic growth rather than an achieved proficiency level, because it is unlikely that all students are starting on the same proficiency level to begin with. The Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, explains, “NCLB says that fifth-grade teacher who helps a student reading at a second-grade level reach a fourth-grade level, within one year, has this missed their goal. In fact, that teacher is an excellent teacher and should be applauded.”
Teachers will be evaluated based on their performance in schools, in relation to these standards and will not be penalized for results if these results demonstrate academic growth. The idea, it seems, is to have children catch up at their own pace. The N.C.L.B. proficiency tests demanded the gaps be closed much more rapidly, whereas the new proposal would permit time. Further, it considers individual progress, which may be a better indicator for if the new standards are helping the students.
The administration hopes to greatly reduce drop out rates and hopes to develop a system that would make it so every high school student graduates ready for college and/or a career. Unlike N.C.L.B., states will have to assume federally proposed academic standard, which may do wonders in some states, but states like Massachusetts, that have excellent and rigorous standards, are afraid that those approved federally may not even meet their current system. Though the program focuses on reading and math, states will be able to develop their own standards for other subjects and those can also be considered when schools are up for review.
What seems to be stressed the most is the effort and the willingness to reform. There is no formula behind a great teacher, nor is there a formula to a great education. What is most important is that no child is left behind, and that somehow one of the reforms proposed prevents that. What will be the impacts on teachers and school administrators? Hopefully that answer is not too far delayed.
The Blueprint, which is very much just that, can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf
