Week 8 The Evolution of American Federalism

.docx

School

American Public University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

PUBLIC POL

Subject

Political Science

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by jmnagynellc

American federalism has evolved since 1789. Select a current example of an issue that has arisen under the umbrella of state's rights. (1) Describe the issue briefly, including summarizing key policy changes over its history. Education reform has been a topic since Plato who believed that Children could not learn or would not learn unless they wanted to. In the United States, Standardized testing has been a part of many education programs across the country for over 50 years. Testing initially began as essays or papers to measure the knowledge of the students. After the industrial revolution, there was a move toward taking a more structured approach and putting children into the classroom verses working on the farm. Every State and local authority had different standards of testing or no testing at all, and the Federal government was not as involved in the process. In the early 1900’s Alfred Binet developed standardized tested that measured intelligence and eventually was incorporated into IQ tests[ CITATION Dan09 \l 1033 ]. After WWI, standardized tests were given to soldiers to help determine the best-suited jobs and positions. In 1926 The Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT and American College Testing or ACT tests were developed and is what is currently used as a standard measure of educational performance, guidance for ability and Aptitude[ CITATION Dan09 \l 1033 ]. Until 2001 when President George Bush enacted No Child Left Behind, all states regulated their testing and decided if it was required for advancement[ CITATION USD14 \l 1033 ]. NCBL is a federal government expansion of Standardized testing, assessed school, teacher performance, and government distribution of funds involving elementary and secondary school systems[ CITATION USD14 \l 1033 ]. Education reform continues to evolve, as there is a need to have a high standard way to measure student progress. Currently President Obama has introduced ways to better support early childhood education by offering funding for programs like head start and RTT-ELC(Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge) which offers support to states in order to focus on early education intervention from the kindergarten level[ CITATION The141 \l 1033 ]. In 2010, The Obama administration moved forward with offering states to apply for ESEA (Elementary and Secondary education) flexibility[ CITATION USD14 \l 1033 ] which allows flexibility on some of the laws from NCLB, if they formed a plan to increase standards for education[ CITATION The141 \l 1033 ]. At this time, 45 states have applied for ESEA.[ CITATION USD14 \l 1033 ] (2) Have states' rights have eroded or have been strengthened related to this specific policy? The topic of Education and reform has certainly chanced throughout the years and it seems as reform happens, Federalism is slowly becoming part of the past as the more Federal mandates are enacted, the more the State’s population relies on the Federal government for support[ CITATION McA12 \l 1033 ]. This is a form of Coercive federalism as the government is imposing regulations on states and local governing bodies to change various education policies[ CITATION McA12 \l 1033 ]. Federal government funding can be withheld or withdrawn if federal standards are not upheld. If the state opts out of federal funding, they have more authority to make their own policy decisions however, this funding helps to pay for distribution of test and monitoring and can be beneficial to state funding. Ultimately, States rights have not completely been eroded however, each reform that the federal government takes forces states

to make choices that prevent autonomy. NCBL despite being a federal government reform is not unconstitutional nor does not violate States’ rights, as States are able to refuse funding. Some states like NY have strengthened federalism by having their own organized testing call the Regents [ CITATION NYC14 \l 1033 ]that are administered annually to measure how NY state schools are serving their students. Regents’ tests are administered from Elementary school through High school[ CITATION NYC14 \l 1033 ]. There are several tests that include tests for students with disabilities, English learners, and gifted/talented students [ CITATION NYC14 \l 1033 ]. (3) Should this issue be regulated at a state level or at a federal level? Defend your position. I think that it is important for States have a say in regulating their own policies as State representatives have a closer relationship with the people it represents and can better express what is wanted and needed. However, there are instances where the State is not able to communicate appropriately, what is needed. They may fail to succeed to support the people due to funding or lack of resources. Education ultimately is important to the success of each state and ultimately the Nation. If States are not able to provide a high quality of education to the people, then it is the responsibility of the federal government to step in and help the situation. The federal government should always be involved when there is violation of Civil rights and the State is not able to represent all parties fairly. Brown v. Board of Education/ Topeka is an example[ CITATION McA12 \l 1033 ]. Brown v. the Board of Education Federal lawsuit brought to light that it was against the 14 th amendment to segregate solely on race in public schools and affects how children learn as a “sense of Inferiority affects motivation to learn”[ CITATION Law13 \l 1033 ]. Bibliography Education, NYC Department of. Yearly Testing. 2014. http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/resources/testing/default.htm (accessed March 26, 2014). Education, U.S. Department of. ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION, ESEA Flexibility. 2014. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/index.html (accessed March 25, 2014). Fletcher, Dan. Brief History Standardized Testing. December 11, 2009. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1947019,00.html (accessed March 25, 2014). Lawnix. Brown v. Board of Education – Case Brief Summary. 2013. http://www.lawnix.com/cases/brown- board-education.html (accessed March 26, 2014). McAfee, Andrea. POLS410 – PUBLIC POLICY. Charles Town: American Public University Electronic Press, 2012. The White House, President Barack Obama. Early Childhood Learning. 2014. http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/early-childhood (accessed March 25, 2014).

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help