Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Is No One Listening to ‘No Child’ Law Critics?

September 21, 2004 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

I am in the interesting position of working part time in an educational research and evaluation company while also pursuing a master’s degree in literacy. As a teacher, I find myself in complete agreement with Sherman Minter’s Commentary on the No Child Left Behind Act (“Down the Rabbit Hole,” July 28, 2004): It is a misguided, albeit well-intentioned, piece of legislation that has created a huge burden for our neediest schools. The law looks and sounds great to those who have no knowledge of what it really means to educate children.

But from the other side of my experience, the evaluations standpoint, I know that the data being generated by the No Child Left Behind law can be a useful tool to inform instruction and help improve practices.

Mr. Minter makes a strong case for the types of tests that should be used to measure progress, relying on the axiom that children enter school with a wide range of background knowledge and progress at different rates.

In fact, all four of Mr. Minter’s suggestions on making this law work for teachers, schools, and students are valid and are based on what educators across the nation already know about children and learning. So the only question I have is this: Why isn’t the federal government listening?

Donna Gilbert

Albany, N.Y.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read