(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)
As one of the hallmark pieces of education legislation passed by President George W. Bush, The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 aimed to reform the American education system by giving schools standard and measurable goals that 100 percent of all students needed to meet. But, by promising to leave no child behind, did the act set its goals too far?
Yesterday the White House announced that it was going to remove a key part of NCLB by offering waivers to states who would seek to exempt themselves from the law’s high bar.
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, who is currently the research professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, talks about the downfalls of the law.
For an on the ground look at the NCLB's effect in the classroom we speak with Mark Wilson, principal of Morgan County High School in Madison, GA.
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The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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Comments [2]
I think they need to remove the Act. If these children are not smart enough to move on, they should not. The majority of my classmates do nothing except text all day, because they know they will pass.
Removing the standard tests to measure academic achievement with the purpose of removing the failure status on schools is equivalent to locking up a handicapped member of your family in the basement so that the neighbors don't see them. Perhaps it would be better to amend the law and change the name from failure to needs critical help. Polititians should be ashamed for hiding bad school performance under the rug just because it is a difficult issue to handle.
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