Worst piece of public policy I’ve ever seen . . .
As a professor of education, I’ve done a considerable amount of research on NCLB and have concluded that the following negative consequences are among its most serious:
-Narrowing of the curriculum to emphasize only those subjects that are tested
-Impoverishment of classroom teaching practices to “teach to the test,” neglecting higher-order thinking skills
-Labeling of experienced, successful teachers as not “highly qualified”
-A “diversity penalty” that puts schools with highly-diverse populations at a greater risk of being labeled as failures
-Failure to distinguish between effective and ineffective schools, and to provide real support to schools that are truly struggling
-Greatly increased federal control at the expense of local control
Among the causes of these problems are the following:
-Over-reliance on large-scale standardized tests
-Lack of attention to reasons why schools and children struggle
-Inadequate funding
-Mismanagement
-Unfounded assumption that high-stakes testing improves academic achievement
My suggestions for fixing NCLB, therefore, include the following:
-Allow states and districts to develop their own accountability systems, and use them to improve instruction, not to penalize schools and teachers.
-Use multiple forms of assessment, not just standardized tests.
-Use “growth models” that track the progress of individual students over time.
-Involve educators in the development of standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
-Assess the progress of ESL and learning disabled students based on standards that are specific to these areas.
-Fully fund ESEA at the level promised.
-Help states focus attention on truly struggling schools, and direct resources toward reducing class sizes and hiring qualified teachers.
-Equalize resources spent on rich and poor.
AND FINALLY, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY . . .
- Rethink the role of the federal government in public education (e.g., Support schools and help equalize resources? Or dictate, evaluate and punish?)
-Dr. Blair Bateman, Brigham Young University
This post was submitted by Dr. Blair Bateman.
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Yes! Especially the combination of reduced class sizes and supported, qualified and empowered teachers will turn the ship around before it slams into the iceberg of ignorance.