Seek a ‘Fuller Language of Schooling’
The No Child Left Behind Act is having its day in Congress. And while the many criticisms that have been leveled at the law will undoubtedly lead in the coming reauthorization to some technical and procedural revisions, it seems clear that with its strong bipartisan support, NCLB will be part of America’s educational policy for the foreseeable future.
When we look back over the history of social policy, we see how often it has unintended consequences. In the immediate push and pull of passing legislation, broader questions of impact and philosophy rarely get asked. With that in mind, it would be good to step back for a moment and consider the No Child Left Behind law in broader terms: What kind of education does a program of such testing foster? And that question resonates with an even more basic one: What kind of education befits a democratic society?
One undeniable value of this federal law is that it shines a bright light on those underserved populations of students who get lost in averaged measures of performance. The assumption is that if schools expect more of such students, they will achieve—and the tests will measure their achievement. Some education activists have been using NCLB to lobby, and in some cases sue, for the curricular and financial resources needed to comply...
This article is available to subscribers only.
To keep reading this article and more, subscribe now or purchase this article.
Subscribe to Education Week and Save
Get a full year and save up to 45%!
Viewed
Emailed
Recommended
Commented
- 2 Positions -Associate Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer, and Director of Human of Resources
- Washington County Public Schools, Hagerstown, MD
- Elementary School Teacher
- Success Academy Charter Schools, New York, NY
- Principals
- Prince George's County Public Schools, MD
- Principal
- Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, Los Angeles, CA
- K-8 Principal
- EdVantages/Performance Academies, Detroit, MI
