[Student Reporters] How has the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 affected students?

Tae Hu Kim / <10th, Buchholz High School>

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 otherwise called NCLB was an act passed by the federal government to increase school proficiency beyond that of the original legislation it was based on - the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Both acts aimed to improve schools yet while the ESEA was oriented towards increasing funding the stated goal of NCLB is to increase academic achievement with the ultimatum of a mandate - 100% proficiency for all students in the subjects of math and reading by the year 2014.

The act however has undergone major controversy over its effectiveness and its results and the enactment of the legislation in 2002 sparked major debate. However it does not seem that there is any quantitative data that proves the Act's effectiveness - or it's lack thereof as stated by the Department of Education. The DOE concluded that it cannot yet be determined whether or not No Child Left Behind has worked.

Many among the student population do not see the act in a positive light.

Evan Gardiner a high school senior says that "[NCLB] teaches isolated facts instead of higher order thinking" stressing that the standardized tests imposed by the act was not the proper course of direction.

Other students when asked primarily linked the No Child Left Behind Act towards standardized testing which was the main implementation of assessment that NCLB proposed. Essentially the scores from standardized tests are submitted annually to the federal government and if a school has made a certain amount of progress (based upon the passing rate of these tests) the school gains additional funding. NCLB hoped to increase educators accountability towards students by implementing an incentives-based system.

Another student Daniel Steffe explained that the primary reason why he was against NCLB was because of "grade inflation" when student's scores in the tests and the classrooms were raised due to lowering standards - a common accusation against NCLB correlating a wider gap between state test scores compared to national tests such as the NAEP. Essentially critics argue that states lower the standards of the tests and the classrooms in order to show artificial progress that might or might not be accurate.

"Teachers are giving A's to kids who shouldn't receive them" says Steffe.

However even though views were negative there were some supporters.

"I think that NCLB needs reform but it's a necessary evil. Not having standard generally breeds inefficiency and our education system needs to be as stream-lined as possible" says a student who wished to stay anonymous who explained that having the standards set forth by the Act was beneficial towards a well-regulated system of education.

While students' opinions on the No Child Left Behind act vary in many aspects students seem to agree that it has impacted their schools in various ways.