The No Child Left Behind Theory
To improve the situation of public schools in America, George Bush presented the No Child Left Behind policy to achieve a good quality of education. For him, this can be achieved through adopting new academic standards and assessments. Therefore, the schools were to show evidence that their students are doing well. Also, schools that are not doing well, depending on their students test scores in the ‘high-stakes’ tests ,will be labeled ‘failing’. Furthermore, the schools will be subjected to negative sanctions, shut down or public humiliation.
However, this policy was failing itself because it focused on the schools results and grades and did not give attention to why they could not do well. In addition, the law obliged schools to work under the same standards. It did not cater for schools with minorities, fewer facilities and less qualified teachers. Moreover, the new did not ensure that every school is offering a good education. The law ranked schools deepening on race and class, not on the quality of education they give which create an achievement gap among the rich schools, high performing schools, and the low performing ones.
To make the American public schools serve in a high level, the author suggested that students do not need public humiliation to do well but need other ways to make the school meet their needs. Such schools need new building and qualified teachers. Also, students need a government and school and cater for their nonacademic needs. Such schools that serve poor kids need to find ways to entertain and offer help. Many families take their kids to these schools because they have no other alternative. Therefore, the state governments must find ways through building partnerships within the society to support these families and make the schools respond to their needs and expectations.
