English

Argument Essay: The negative impact of the No Child Left Behind Act.

The second intention of the Act demanded all children to have attained proficiency by the 2013/2014 year. Each state was given the liberty to define its own standards of ‘proficiency’ for the region. [<--What are these standards of proficiency based on? How do states determine their standards of proficiency? This information can help your readers better understand this act.] Even so, the policy was that each school was expected to produce proficient students. In the case that a school failed to meet this standard of the No Child Left Behind Act, the school’s district would step in and offer assistance to parents and students of the school, including tightened disciplinary measures that would attract state takeover.

On its part, the country’s Department of Education would facilitate this No Child Left Behind Act by increasing the amount of funding repackaged in the form of bonuses to the district schools, but on condition that they were achievers of the standards of the Act. The law also allowed states and school districts the allowance to utilize their resources much freely, demand more accountability of student results from district schools as well as private schools, so that they could be able to determine the schools that were achieving in the various regions, in order to add more learning assistance, in addition to allowing schools to encourage parent involvement. As for the schools that would fail to achieve before year 2007, a school improvement plan would be added, and the state would decide if to take control or not.

The No Child Left Behind Act has raised many concerns and controversies. First is the issue of funding, that has remained inadequate until to date. Owing to this problem, various bodies such as NASBE among others, is concerned that the Act is gradually becoming more of a burden than an aid. Initially, it had been assumed making the Act work would cost about $7 billion within a span of 7 years. This budget and time were viewed as enough for the development and implementation of the testing programs in this Act, but then the budget of this project only gives a go ahead for only four million dollars to be directed towards assisting the states come up and implement the tests. [<--Why is there a budget deficit for this act? What caused this budget deficit? These details can help your readers better understand this effect of the act.] From this event, it means that schools are left with no option but to foot a bill of over six billion dollars. The states position of facing scarcity led by the concern of budget cuts does not guarantee any improvements any soon.

Though the No Child Left Behind Act is facing funding issues, it has registered an improvement in test scores as demonstrated by learners in public schools. The 2005 results of the National Assessment of Education Progress are a proof that the Act has indicates the policy’s achievement. The results show that students aged nine years improved in their reading skills between 2001 and 2005, compared to its former policy. They also indicated an improvement in math in that period.

The requirement for the No Child Left Behind Act ensured that teachers were highly qualified to teach children, thus setting a pace and standard for kid’s education. Even so, it left these professionals disgruntled from the unattainable conditions. Teachers who do not qualify in the state testing criteria that qualifies teaching above the 2005/2006 school year cannot continue teaching and as such, they are forced to go pursue a quality education as per the conditions, and only then can they be reinstated. This stipulation has left a number of unprepared teachers unemployed and having to face the financial burden of improving their education to meet the required pass. In addition, the conditions are set so high that they are discouraging aspiring teachers who would make good teachers but are limited by financial reasons to pursue their careers. [<--What are the current conditions for teachers under this act? By adding these details, you can further emphasize the difficulty of attaining these conditions.]

In conclusion, the No Child Left Behind Act has left more negative impacts on the education sector than it has with its positive ones. As such, teachers are left opposing the conditions, while society, which includes parents, continue to reel in the high budget from the 6-billion-dollar deficit that the state had purposed to fund. With its exception of the special education learners, it fails to embrace the whole student fraternity, leaving them for a different body to cater for their needs. On the other hand, the Act has indicated through its results that it is indeed achieving its goal and purpose, meaning that if allowed more time, it could sure change the whole education system as planned.

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