The other major headache that developed for me working at Griswold was the never-ending set of regulations from the state and Federal government which directly affected our curriculum and more importantly, the way in which we presented our lessons. Beginning in 2001, with the Federal initiative of ‘No Child Left Behind’ which was later replaced by ‘Every Student Succeeds Act’ and ultimately filtered down to ‘Common Core’ at the individual state level, my classroom exhibited less and less teaching and more and more paperwork to justify the attainment of goals, that many times, someone else had set up. Were some of the mandates necessary to help various student groups such as the disadvantaged within the educational system? Absolutely. But, if you asked most teachers, I think they would agree that it was hindering more then helping in the majority of classrooms. As one of my fellow teachers told me before I retired: “You can’t teach if all you’re doing is recording data and filling out forms to justify what you're supposed to be teaching.” In 1993, the program entitled CAPT (Connecticut Academic Performance Test) was initiated. It was set up to be given to students in their sophomore year of high school as a standardized test in mathematics, science, reading, and writing with the goal to have each student meet certain predetermined levels of achievement. Originally designed to measure our students level of competence in the four areas, over the years since its start, the
In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.
The function of the education system is to improve students education and prepare them for the real world. Students within that system should receive an “A” when they have mastered the information they are being taught. However, grades no longer accurately reflect how much students have learned. Since 1998 teachers have handed out more A-grades while the average SAT scores have actually fallen. In fact, as Greg Toppo states, an author for USA Today, the amount of A’s handed out actually went up close to ten percent (4). Students can manipulate their courses so that they can get good grades without actually learning much of anything. With grades not accurately representing what students have learned and charter schools failing to solve problehms, teachers need to change how they structure their class or grade assignments.
The No Child Left Behind Act passed by Congress in 2001 is a standards based initiative intended to improve public school education by promoting high, measurable standards and accountability in schools. However, after fourteen years, No Child Left Behind has resulted in some unintended negative consequences. Two of these negative consequences are the narrowing of the curriculum and lost instructional time. In schools across the country, less instructional time is spent in non-tested areas such as the Social Sciences, Science, Art, and Music. Furthermore, extensive amounts of time is lost due to test preparation, test administration, and testing.
What is one of the things that most people are accustomed to? Something that has been a part of their daily life. There are many things but what I am referring to is school. School has been around for hundreds of years. Whether it was to learn about religion or the mandatory classes we take now in the 21st century, many of us have been advised to go to school. It has changed a lot over the years and the system is still trying to improve how they could better educate their students in the future. Now, after going through many levels of school, people question themselves: why did I learn all of this? They question why they couldn’t learn more about taxes, buying a house or the important aspects when you get a car. School has become a
For decades educational reform has been a top priority in the United States. For years, federal and state governments have been working together on legislation that would improve education standards. Many systems have been created in that time period with President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) being one of the most recent reforms. NCLB seemed insufficient over time and led to the most recent reform in education, Common Core Standards that were released in 2010 by state governors and superintendents. Since its origination, Common Core Standards have been a controversial implementation across the nation.
Originally the Standard Based Assessment exam was used from 2012 to 2014 in order to evaluate the students’ proficiency on content-based material ( ). Just last year a new testing method, the Alaska Measures of Progress testing in the areas of mathematics, reading, and writing was adopted ( ). The shift from the Standard Base Assessment to the Alaska Measure of Progress was the Department of Education desire to have students prepared for secondary education or work placement expectations set for in the statement. The Alaska Measure of Progress exam are drastically different in questioning, scoring, achievement definitions, and score parameters then the preceding testing assessment ( ) This lack of comparison leaves the educators in a glitch as they try to educate their students in content-based material without having reliable proficiency testing results. As of this writing the educator will only have the snapshot of last year’s results to direct, guide, and implement their teaching strategies to facilitate the learning process in the classroom. However these test results scores are presently being debated in open forum to the public to set cutoff scores for the four categories in which the student will show proficiency ( ) . So without adequate guidance the teacher is hampered in their efforts to educate a diverse
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands- one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Audrey Hepburn.
The cost of college tuition is continually on the rise and has placed many burdens on high school students as well as their families. Some of the burdens that are placed are a result of parents putting pressure on their children to earn scholarships. Some of the burden is a result of students putting pressure on themselves to earn scholarships. Then, there is the burden of high college debt once the student graduates. Is this pressure really helping our students or is it hurting them? The bottom line is college tuition is skyrocketing out of control and something must be done before it destroys our families and our children.
The 1980s brought a new reform movement in education, accompanied by a new emphasis on testing. The effort to improve education at all levels included the use of standardized tests to provide accountability for what students are learning. Minimum competency tests, achievement tests, and screening instruments were used to ensure that students from preschool through college reached the desired educational goals and achieved the minimum standards of education that were established locally or by the state education agency. As we continue in a new century, these concerns have increased.
Imagine a store only sold two sizes of the new shirt you wanted. In today's society that is the perfectly painted picture on college education. College has become an option, a granted privilege, and no longer a necessity. Jobs such as small business owners, Web developers, and Wind Turbine Technician no longer require a college degree. College education is still worth it because college, ¨encourages students to think, ask questions, and explore new ideas, which allows for additional growth and development and provides college graduates with an edge in the job market over those who have not experienced a higher education¨ (McGuire). A college degree is an essential tool in an adult's life because of prominent health, labor market balance, and overall career success.
In the past, if students did not make “adequate progress” towards federal proficiency standards, the federal government could impose penalties.
The education system is something that is very important to our nation. Unfortunately our nation’s most sweeping education law, “The elementary and secondary education act of 1965, is sadly outmoded and broken. The act is better known as the “No child get left behind act.” The act was passed in 1965 to set a high bar for students, provide our nation’s children with a solid education, and good pavement to settle life in a middle class. However, over the years government officials and schools have become too wrapped up in demanding the same skills out of all students. Everyone is different and has their own set of skills and abilities.
Another issue with the law is that the federal government is taking a much more active role in public elementary and secondary education than in past years. In my opinion the federal government should not play a major role in our education system, but according to NBC news reporter Ellis, Rehema “The critics say, the devil is in the detail” (NBC news) The government is funding billions of dollars on the No Child Left Behind Act each year, when statistics are clearly showing that the good intention of the law is not working like it should. In my opinion, teachers’ annual income should be reviewed and increased, federal funding should be invested in better schools, and the increase of technology should be accessible for every classroom in order to
President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law on January 8, 2002, thus re-authorizing six more years of Johnson’s historic Elementary and Secondary Education Act initiative. The No Child Left Behind Act aims to reform education by improving academic standards, with goals such as: holding states more accountable for results, creating greater flexibility at the state and local levels, expanding options and choice for parents, emphasizing teacher quality and effective teaching methods, and confirming states ' progress (Fritzberg 2004, p. 11). It expanded the
Education in the United States has always been a debatable topic, an issue that is constantly being discussed asking how can we improve the education system? A system that many believe is broken, a system that impacts students and teachers all around the country, however, it is a system that does not affect those who were fortunate enough to cause a drastic call for change. Overall, there are many issues and programs involving education, and if there were three that I would advocate for to improve teaching as a profession, it would be, improving the cultural diversity training, increasing teacher’s salaries, and adjusting the curriculum.