Thursday Thirteen - Edition 30 - Thirteen Facts/Opinions about the NCLB Law

Thirteen Things Facts/Opinions about the No Child Left Behind Act(Just MHO!*) 1....It sounds well-intentioned. 2....It claims to give parents more choices. 3....It requires more accountability for results. 4....It seeks to lift the learning levels of students who have been inefficient and underachieving learners. 5....It often raises the learning level of those underachievers. 6....Statistics show that previously lower-achieving students are scoring higher on standardized tests. 7....It ignores the needs of efficient learners and high-achieving students. 8....It "leaves behind" the gifted children -- those who crave learning opportunities that challenge them to expand their minds. 9....Teaching the arts, foreign languages and other "non-essentials" is by necessity shortchanged in order to teach to the standardized tests in reading and math - the primary focus of the law. 10....Many states cannot/do not fully fund the program as it is set up - especially the requirements for "highly qualified" teachers in every classroom. 11....It erodes state and local control of education. 12....The incentive to improve schools is frustrated because lower-performing schools get more funding. 13....Educator morale seems to be deteriorating since its beginning. *My Humble Opinion