Luckily, my daughter goes to a wonderful Montessori Charter school, and they've done a really great job of helping students achieve each year. We're proud that her school was one of the few that made AYP again this year!
My child's elementary school is on the list. But I've learned that as much as we tout test results, they are not the only indication of the education a child receives in school.
When we first moved to Cary, my children attended our base school, which always received excellent test results. I can tell you two things, however. One is that as a parent volunteer in a 4th grade class, I saw numerous students who had difficulty with simple reading. No way they weren't left behind, despite what the school's positive test results indicated.
The second thing is that while the effort is made so no child is left behind, schools sometimes neglect to push a child ahead. For that reason, plus the negative environment of our base school, we left and went to magnet school.
Our new school may not be perfect (as demonstrated by the AYP scores,) but the teachers are engaged, the kids are interested and the school fosters a love of learning that is more significant than a test score any day.
My sister is a wake co teacher with a masters in education AND child development (she works with kid with special needs in wake co middle school) -
No child left behind = teach to the lowest learning level in your class so the average test score is high AND even if a child should stay behind, they are promoted so "NO CHILD IS LEFT BEHIND". think about it.
She has kids in her class that pee in the trashcan during class, rob her, and one middle school kid pulled a KNIFE on her because all the school can do is suspend them for a few days and they WANT that, because thier parents have to leave them home alone in order to keep thier jobs. Lower Standards + no punishment = leaving kids who want to learn with lower education levels because teachers hands are tied.
I agree that the NCLB does not benefit those that are at higher levels, and it really stinks. It leaves those that are high levels bored and not wanting to learn and end up dumbing down or dropping out, etc...
I am not exactly sure what Bush was really thinking when he enforced this, but I do not think it was very well thought out at all.
Comments
Luckily, my daughter goes to a wonderful Montessori Charter school, and they've done a really great job of helping students achieve each year. We're proud that her school was one of the few that made AYP again this year!
My child's elementary school is on the list. But I've learned that as much as we tout test results, they are not the only indication of the education a child receives in school.
When we first moved to Cary, my children attended our base school, which always received excellent test results. I can tell you two things, however. One is that as a parent volunteer in a 4th grade class, I saw numerous students who had difficulty with simple reading. No way they weren't left behind, despite what the school's positive test results indicated.
The second thing is that while the effort is made so no child is left behind, schools sometimes neglect to push a child ahead. For that reason, plus the negative environment of our base school, we left and went to magnet school.
Our new school may not be perfect (as demonstrated by the AYP scores,) but the teachers are engaged, the kids are interested and the school fosters a love of learning that is more significant than a test score any day.
My sister is a wake co teacher with a masters in education AND child development (she works with kid with special needs in wake co middle school) -
No child left behind = teach to the lowest learning level in your class so the average test score is high AND even if a child should stay behind, they are promoted so "NO CHILD IS LEFT BEHIND". think about it.
She has kids in her class that pee in the trashcan during class, rob her, and one middle school kid pulled a KNIFE on her because all the school can do is suspend them for a few days and they WANT that, because thier parents have to leave them home alone in order to keep thier jobs. Lower Standards + no punishment = leaving kids who want to learn with lower education levels because teachers hands are tied.
I agree that the NCLB does not benefit those that are at higher levels, and it really stinks. It leaves those that are high levels bored and not wanting to learn and end up dumbing down or dropping out, etc...
I am not exactly sure what Bush was really thinking when he enforced this, but I do not think it was very well thought out at all.
Becka
Mom to Nick Michele Wyatt
www.learnandgrowtogether.com