Is "No Child Left Behind" Leaving Behind its Fundamental Goals?

"No Child Left Behind" is a highly ambitious policy. It is known as the largest educational reform in 40 years. Regardless of the law's goals of bridging the educational gap between all groups of children, there are many things the bill leaves behind.

A recent report by the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (http://www.bdtonline.com/) does a great jobs explaining some of the problem. This article states four main objective of "No Child Left Behind." These are:

1. "instruction be based upon research-based strategies;"
2. "schools provide quality reading instruction;"
3. "parents be given alternatives to low-performing schools;
4. "schools, districts, and states be held accountable for all students’ learning. "

This article explains how the language of the bill can be confusing. It is hard to tell what the bill means by "highly qualified teachers" or "school of choice."

Funding is another problem. School districts still struggle to find sources of funding for these improved standards.

"No Child Left Behind" focuses mainly on math and reading skills, but students need more than math and reading. The article explains this excellently.

"To gauge the success of a school is to look at the whole organization — academics, arts, athletics, attendance and graduation rates, school climate, teacher-student ratio, and student/parent satisfaction — “No Child Left Behind” leaves out many markers of excellence!"

Check out the article, What ‘No Child Left Behind’ leaves out (http://www.bdtonline.com/columns/local_story_320164212.html).