opinions please on no child left behind program

[seabeyond]

anyone with real know on what is happening with this and our schools, feel of it from parents or any instances of having to deal with it. good and bad.............i would like opinion and thought of this program

not a political them against us kinda thing, i just feel that it hasnt been productive, more destructive. i have some information on it, yet in doing research i am consistantly hearing that the idea is good, the implementation of the program has been failure.

i would like a balance insight to the failures and what part of the country.

appreciate it

[PA Democrat]

1. My personal experience

I have a child with autism. She is high-functioning, and is doing grade-level work. However, she does NOT test well.

My school district asked me to sign a form letter objecting to testing for religious reasons. We were not the only parents asked to do this.

On one hand, my child may never meet the testing standards because of her disability, but on the other hand, what does this type of manipulation of the data prove?

[seabeyond]

6. k, k, k, good.... i had a conversation with a mother

her child has been labeled all over, but the doctors bottom lined it to her iq was just lower than average, which is cool enough, she is a beautiful child, but mother says she couldnt pass the test. where does that leave her. talked to a teacher friend about that, what about the child under average iq, dismiss them? she told me there is a place in the rules for these children, that they are given a grace in the requirement. yet talking to parents, you and the other gal not hearing it

and then school asking you to do that to save there butt, i hear ya

[iconoclastic cat]

2. NCLB has been destructive and wasteful.

It is unfunded, and it has failed to produce any real, sustained results.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. No (white, middle or upper class) child left behind.

Bushit "compassionate conservatism" at it's smelliest.

[madrchsod]

4. it`s a great recruitment program

for the walton and bradly families and foundations to gut public education as we have it now and it install vouchers as the only choice for public education...

[seabeyond]

7. well this is how i see it

i see it as a way to hollow out schools to get the private schools taking over the education.

i would like to hear if maybe i am just seeing this in the most horrible way and maybe that isnt all that it is about or what is happening with it

after so long with it, i would like to know what is actually happening with the schools. i know i havent put kids in public schools initially because of the tests, i disagreed with it. now i am out of public schools and dont have a clue

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Destructive, according to the teachers in my family.

Teachers are swamped enough without giving them more meanignless hoops to jump through, and teaching kids to take and pass these tests means ZIP when it comes to surviving in the real world.

[seabeyond]

8. so your teachers arent liking it

i agree getting kids to memorize in order to pass a test takes away from the studies i place as valuable. again as above why i didnt put kids in public schools

[central scrutinizer]

9. It has impossible "goals"

Even a first year statistics student will tell you it is ridiculous to require all students to score above the 75th percentile. By definition, this is impossible.

[SCDem]

10. My mother is a teacher in California

and she has to spend most of the time testing the children. Tests tests tests tests. Learning and discovering matter not instead it is test and retention or retention and test however you want to look at it. For her it has taken the fun and art out of teaching. And she teaches 3rd grade which is a make it or break it grade. She had one student who was reading at like a 5th or 6th grade level and a real gifted writer but her math skills were falling. My mother, the teacher, and the principal had to remind the parents of this wonderfully gifted student that no matter how gifted in the language arts she is, she has to pass the math tests or else she will be held back and have to do 3rd grade again. This makes me sick.... Einstein might pass physics with flying colors but if he doesn't do the same in English he will fail and amount to nothing even though he could one day be a gifted physicist.

Now kids have to test well on every grade or else be branded a failure as well as the school they attend.

[seabeyond]

11. my son goes to private

and he too excels at reading. 3rd grade in 7th grade reading. he takes the stanford test. private doesnt have to do federal or state tests. he was highest percentage in everything, literally like 99% in the nation all the way down the many lists except math

sequential thinking. he is so weak in sequential thinking. math is sequential and so hard for him to grasp, takes lots of doing doing doing before he gets it. if anything gets in way of routine, he is lost. they wanted to drug him cause he is so bad in this, lol lol in kindergarten. told them, no way, will just have to be patient and do the work, the hard way

very relevent. thank you

that is what i see with kids that excel so high in one area. sometimes i think how much easier for like my middle child that is good, not excellent, in all things, lol. jack of all trades, instead of master of one

[cap]

12. yup... private schools good or bad are exempt from NCLB

eom

[qb]

13. We were shocked by my daughter's first report card

She was in 1st grade last year. We think she's quite intelligent, and were shocked to see she got mostly 2's (on a scale of 1 to 4). The school gave us a letter telling us not to worry about initial grades that look low. They have to do that so that students will show improvement. Otherwise they'll lose funding.

"No Child Left Behind" is total bullshit.

[porphyrian]

14. Here's a Link to some articles...

Take a look at these:

http://www2.whoseflorida.com/newswire/display/639


This is from a bi-partisan site of people who don't like brother Jeb!'s policies for the state of Florida.

[mcar]

15. NCLB is set up to fail schools

That's how I see it. I sit on the School Advisory Committee at my son's school. Most of our monthly meetings revolve around NCLB and FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, another mess). Schools that rate an "A" on their FCAT scores frequently fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress under NCLB.

One of the more ridiculous aspects of NCLB is that they will tell the school it hasn't made AYP because a specific group (ESE, free or reduced lunch, etc) didn't improve enough, but it won't tell the school which kids didn't improve, thus making it impossible for the school to help those kids!

Also, comparing one year's scores to another is comparing apples to oranges since it's comparing two different grades of kids. IOW, they are comparing this year's 4th graders' scores to last year's 4th graders' scores -- different kids, different scores.

And, schools need to keep improving to continue making AYP. So, if your school scored a 95 on the FCAT (not a real score, but you get the idea), they have to score a 96 the next year, a 97 the year after that, etc, etc. It's unrealistic to expect perfection.

Of course, NCLB is extremely underfunded, as well, thanks to * and his sleight of hand.

The amount of paperwork that school administrators and teachers have to deal with is absolutely ridiculous. But, if they don't play along, they can literally lose their jobs.

After serving on this committee for a year, I am more convinced than ever that the Republicans want to destroy public education.

[ucmike]

16. i don't have kids

but my property taxes will go up at least $200 this year to pay for this piece of shit iniative. that comes from my town council who is getting killed trying to pay for this.


i have no problem paying for education...well administered, useful education, that is.

[greenbriar]

17. www.wichitaeagle.com here is how it is affecting Wichita

Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2004



R E L A T E D L I N K S
• More in Education




Feds slip into larger role in the classroom

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act is having an impact on how children are educated in Wichita and across the country.

BY ALAN BJERGA

Eagle Washington bureau


WASHINGTON - Voters routinely name education as one of their top issues in federal election campaigns, though the federal government plays only a minor role in school funding and policy.

But as the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act ripples through school systems, federal rules are having a greater effect on how children are educated, making Capitol Hill education debates more relevant to local classrooms.

"No Child Left Behind will make education better, if nothing else because of the discussion it's generated," said Winston Brooks, superintendent of Wichita schools. The law "will have to change, though, because some of its goals simply aren't going to happen."

The law is designed to make every child in the country proficient in math and reading by 2014.

Brooks said that while it's a noble goal for every student to meet state standards, that isn't possible, especially in urban districts such as Wichita, which have more students who are poor, are learning English or are in special education.

No Child Left Behind was the first congressional bill introduced after George W. Bush became president.





Each group of kids is different. If you want to test their progress do a longevity test, but to test and base results off of different 8th graders 10th graders is absurd. Each year brings different children to the plate!

[greenbriar]

18. here is more

The problem, he said, is that it costs more to meet the requirements than the district gets from the federal government.

While federal school aid has increased since No Child Left Behind was passed, it hasn't increased as much as lawmakers promised it would. That means districts have to come up with money from their own pockets to meet federal mandates.

For example, earlier this month Wichita eliminated its local standardized tests, saving money in the short term to prepare for when the federal government starts requiring double the current number of tests in 2005.

[TransitJohn]

19. It's code for

No Child Left Untested So That We Can Take Money Away From Poor School Districts And Don't You Dare Ask Where It's Going Act.

[jerryvov]

20. Perhaps what Bush meant to say was...

no millionaire left behind.

[seabeyond]

21. everyOne,....eXecellent information. Thank you

this is the feel i was getting just didnt have the specifics on it. this is the kind of stuff i was hearing. thanks for the confirmation

someone told me to have these standards to the poor areas is unjust and then taking money out of the school even leaving option open for kids to transport to other schools isnt realistic, that parents wont or cant do the drive to another school, working, no cars whatever.... and that is just opening up these schools to be even more poor giving these children even more a handicap

has anyone heard this

[Lars39]

22. When the schools can't make the grade year after year(6or 7?),

they will eventually be taken over by the federal government. That is the real goal. Once the federal government is in charge, the schools will be privatized.

[seabeyond]

24. wow wow wow

literally said that three times out loud before coming to type. hm.......now this goes along to my theory how you have the infrastucture to have all children in private or corporate education (and we know how compassionate corporations are looking at part in war and hey employee workers)

hm......thank you

[DebJ]

23. even mentally retarded children must be brought to grade levl

is my understanding......how retarded is that? or the school can be forced to fire every teacher. My husband is a special ed teacher, and I read this in a paper that comes to us from the NEA, I think it is. HOW THE CHENEY IS THIS POSSIBLE??? Most of the children he teaches are brain damaged because their parents are on crack, heroin, and feed the children koolaid instead of formula from very young in infancy. These children may never exceed a second grade reading level, no matter how hard you beat up the teachers. And do you think there is parental support in their children's studies??? Ha. My husband voluntarily makes personal home visits to every parent at the beginning of the year, and later on if he sees he can get some help from some parent. But mostly, they don't care. The parents are on the streets at night.

[seabeyond]

25. ya debj

i know our schools have problems and administration wastes money. i know there are bad teachers and they are being asked to teach too many subjects that should be taught by the parent. but i am really bottomlining, adn have always pinned it on the parent. my feel, truly, from the heart, if a parent participates in the childs education, they will be educated. i am not finding private school to be exceptional. my sons second grade teacher was a waste. by december i said, k, we just have to do the work when edmund gets home, to keep him up., my other son, his kindergarten teacher too easy on him. private doesnt guarentee anything. it is the parents role

and so many parents not connected with the child in my view is the core to the school issue.

so reality, no program is going to work, til the parents get to work