NCLB up for modification

Obama has proposed a new initiative to Congress to better schools across the nation. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act will be reauthorize but with some differences. Yet, Diane Ravitch, the main proponent of that act has now completely reversed sides, stating that the program is a national failure. Having an act that clearly has not been working, even with some minor adjustments, Obama’s could be setting up for failure.

            A few corrections to the act could potentially make an impact however, only if it is done effectively. Obama’s proposal would get rid of NCLB’s  annual yearly progress and proficiency requirements which tended to set up some schools for failure. Annual yearly progress means that schools are mandated to move the bottom 25% of their student body up a certain amount of points which is ridiculous because if you have, let’s say, a magnet school whose bottom 25% has received a 3 on the FCAT, that means that in that year, they must bring those students up from their score or else the school goes down a grade level.

            That is what might happen to our school. Our scores are not bad but the bottom 25% of students has not shown “annual yearly progress” which means that Varela could drop another letter grade. The system of “annual yearly progress” has not been working for schools and it is about time we changed it which is why this aspect of the reauthorization is great.

            These improvements could, in essence, be beneficial. However, it is all on the implementation in which the individual states deal with these changes. Some states are more equipped than others to accommodate for these transformations.

            In an ideal world, the nation would have national standards, tests such as the SAT where score standards are the same throughout the country. The unfortunate side is that education implementation is left up to the state which is why students in Florida might not have the same education as people in New York or in Missouri.

            The president is doing what he can with what he has because unfortunately, the national government can only make policy and offer some funding, but they are not a part of the essential level of education when it reaches school boards and state-level committees.

            Students often complain about the FCAT and sometimes it is warranted, but sometimes it is not. All the states in the country have some kind of standardized testing and the benchmarks that are used for the FCAT are not that difficult. In fact, students should have to know all that is on those tests in order to graduate because if not they don’t deserve a diploma.

            The problem with the FCAT is the fact that one test, one day, can determine your entire high school progress and that is the ridiculous part. Additionally, some teachers find themselves, teaching the tests instead of teaching the subject and incorporating the test in their lessons.

            It doesn’t matter how much money we feed into the educational system because the bottom line is that it doesn’t matter if notes are being presented in class by way of projector or smart board. If the students aren’t motivated to learn the subject matter, funding is obsolete. Moreover, if we continue to fund schools with no efficient plan to use it, we are just putting more of a debt on our nation.

            One of the better parts of the plan for college-bound seniors is Obama’s proposal to raise the federal Pell Grant up to $5,550 which is great because students with no estimated family contribution should have some aid if they want the opportunity to attend college.

            At the core, the most quintessential part of education is the teacher. Teachers quit more in the first three years than they do in the following years. We need to train our teachers because that’s where it starts. Many teachers come into the system, after four years get “tenure,” and are never checked on as frequently, oftentimes leaving classrooms with unqualified teachers.

            Locally, recertifying for National Boards does not give teachers a raise anymore, which means teachers are no longer pushed to continue learning new technological advancements that frequently arise.

             Education needs work. But it isn’t an easy fix. Obama is sticking to the NCLB Act which could be detrimental but at the same time, scratching an act altogether could be costly, time-consuming, and all together a bad idea.