Standardized Testing Act Research Paper

A never-ending issue has loomed over the head of our nation-- education. According to the Institute of Education Sciences, 63.7% of American students are below proficient in reading and 65.7% in math. In order to improve educational standards and increase student achievement, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) in 2002. Designed to increase the role of the federal government in education, it holds schools accountable based on how students perform on standardized tests. Statistics show that the average student completes about 110-115 mandatory, standardized tests between pre-kindergarten and end of twelfth grade (an average of eight tests per year). Standardized testing utilizes

The No Child Left Behind Act is a “revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, which provided federal aid to schools with large populations of low-income students” (Hudson 7). The original purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act was to close the achievement gap between students and ensure all teachers and principals are highly qualified. The difference between ESEA and the No Child Left Behind Act is the ESEA abstained from tying funding to achievement. The No Child Left Behind Act has negatively affected the education of children in America by cutting the pay of schools unable to meet proficiency standards, substituting standards and tests for quality education, setting schools up for failure, and failing to recognize

Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act is a renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is an aid program for disadvantaged students. Although it does sound as if the Act is helping children all across the country, Alexandra Robbins thoroughly explains otherwise in her book, The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids. Within pages eighty five through eighty nine, Robbins thoroughly shows her negativity to the Act and why it’s hurting children rather than helping them. She uses hard facts, such as the emphasis on tests, altered curricula, and the corrupt college admission process to prove her point.

The No Child left Behind Act was intended to close the achievement gap in elementary and secondary schools by allowing each and every student the opportunity to have the best education possible. This law was signed by George W. Bush in 2001 who described it as a law that will, “Ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education”(Neill 2). The No Child Left Behind Act was only intended to help the students, but it is clear, not only to teachers, parents, and professionals, that it is time for a reauthorized law; One that each and every student can benefit from. The achievement gap in America’s school systems still exists. For the sake of America’s future, the school system must make a change now or the future of this country will suffer.

The article “Use the Common Core. Use It Widely. Use It Well” by William E. (Brit) Kirwan, Timothy P. White, and Nancy Zimpher states that many high school graduates lack the skills needed to enter and succeed at college level courses. Though the writers list much support of Common Core State Standards there is also political resistance and assessment difficulties. Colleges and students are using many unnecessary dollars to bring high school graduates up to college entry level standards. This national problem affects all areas of the country and the cost of not finding a solution to improving student success in college and vocational training could be detrimental to society.

The lack of educational benchmarks and standardization in the United States of America, USA is disjointed and subpar leaving students ill prepared to enter the workforce and college. As evidenced by the persistent problem of students graduating and passing required exit exams in high school; yet, they still needed remediation upon entry to college. The Common Core is good because it provides a set of age appropriate learning goals and sets a national high-quality academic standard for Math and English to prepare students for college and career readiness. In essence, the Common Core defines what a student should know and be able to do at different grade levels.

Common Core is built as an infective for education to all schools, but what it is, is a policy that all students learn the same. Common Core has been adopted in forty-three states around the nation. Common Core is designed to get students ready for college and career ready from grades Kindergarten through twelfth grade. “The basic definition of what Common Core is, a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy.” (Board)“The college- and career-readiness standards were developed first and then incoporated into the K-12 standards in the final cersion of the Common Core we have today.” (Practices) The construction of Common Core was by seeing which state standards were already the best, using experienced teachers, leading-thinkers, content experts, and also public feedback about their child’s education. Common Core is currently being endorsed by the White House. “Common Core is currently costing the United States eighty billion dollars.” (Board) Common Core was created by state educational chiefs and governors from forty-eight states. Common Core states that it will get students ready for their futures, but has only hurt them by not truly completing the goals set. Common Core is developmentally inappropriate for students because the cost of Common Core, it is pushed by the government for competition between states, and the strong implantation of standardized testing.

Many Americans, including teachers, are very displeased with the new standards children are having to live up to. If parents knew what the Common Core is doing to the classroom, there would be a revolt.; a quote directly from a New York high school instructor. Instead of teaching the fundamental basics of education, many teachers are too heavily stressed on the fact they have to meet a deadline and rush through important materials needed for adolescents future success.

Where are we headed as our future generations prepare to take over and lead our nation? Will our nation’s graduating students be competent and equipped to lead us into a successful future? How do we determine if we are preparing them to be intelligent enough to be successful in this world? What is intelligence and success? And is that all it takes to lead a successful nation? It has been proven that student performance and higher grades can dramatically increase the economic growth of a nation, but is this all we need? Has Washington (Govenement) put in place the best method for establishing a new generation to lead our country? Or should we ask, do we want Washington to be taking the lead of our educational system?

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was drafted and passed to inject a rigid standard-based education system in the United States. It was signed into law by President Bush, and represents a gross, unwarranted, and unsubstantiated encroachment of the federal government into education. According to the State of New Jersey Department of Education (2010), the No Child Left Behind Act "contains the most sweeping changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) since it was enacted in 1965." One of the results of the act has been a grading system, whereby schools are evaluated according to their students' standardized test scores. The ideas behind the act were that No Child Left Behind would encourage stronger accountability for results-based education; offer increased flexibility and local control over how educational standards were being met; offer "expanded options for parents;" and emphasize empirically tested teaching practices (New Jersey Department of Education, 2010). The No Child Left Behind Act was proposed as a measure of reforming failing schools by encouraging compliance with educational standards established by the federal government. One of its most attractive provisions has been that No Child Left Behind "took particular aim at improving the educational lot of disadvantaged students," ("No Child Left Behind," 2004).

In standardized tests I always get a good grade and in some occasions I have got some high scores on them. I think that I consider myself a good test taker because when I have a test really important I always sleep early, practice things that might be on the test, and the most important for me is to try my best in every question no matter if I never practice doing that question. I also consider myself a good standardized test taker because in the past couple of years I have gotten good grades and it has made me proud. I never been this way because I used to think that school was just a joke because I was going to become a pro soccer player, but now I can see that in order for me to become a soccer player I have to study a lot specially science

Education has been changing and developing for centuries, and with change comes differing of opinions. The Common Core standards are the most recent attempt to educate the best students in the United States. Although teachers at schools implementing Common Core are learning new methods of teaching, the standards do not dictate what approach they should take; these standards are what students should comprehend and be able to do by the end of the term or scholastic year. Provided that students are invested in their personal educations, students should be better prepared for their lives in the “real world,” what some call the portion of life following high school as a result. The Common Core standards should be the standards of education in the United States as it will improve the abilities of students more and produce conscientious citizens of the world capable of contribution.

In the United States education has always been a contested issue. In 2009, state leaders in forty-eight states launched the Common Core standard and currently forty-three states are working to implement the system. The Common Core’s main purpose was to prepare American students for success and to create an even playing field for all students. But is the Common Core really helping students reach their potential?

The No Child Left Behind Act should tremendously be re-examined and amended because the focus on the standardized tests decrease the quality of other subjects not on the tests, the tests are not an efficient tool to make certain that a student is receiving an excellent education and the tests create unnecessary stress for the students, teachers and administrators. The purpose of No Child Left Behind is to provide every student with the opportunity to receive a top-grade education. This is a great proposal to strive towards but, legislation plans on achieving this proposal by making schools responsible for their students’ proficiency and to measure their proficiency with the use of standardized tests. After the students take the

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, President George W. Bush's education reform bill, was signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002. The No Child Left Behind Act says that states will develop and apply challenging academic standards in reading and math. It will also set annual progress objectives to make sure that all groups of students reach proficiency within 12 years. And the act also says that children will be tested annually in grades 3 through 8, in reading and math to measure their progress. The test results will be made public in annual report cards on how schools and states are progressing toward their objectives.