Are Federal & State Mandates for Education Good or Bad?

What do you think?

According to the 7 th grade teachers at CMS…

Why Good, Bad or Both The trouble with the mandates is that there are people making rules for education that have no clue what is really going on in the classroom. Sometimes they guess right, but most of the time, they get it wrong. Creates guidelines for teachers to follow Schools are funded by taxes and aided with grants so someone needs to be looking over them. Some regulation needs to exist so schools can be held accountable-but at most just by the states. The federal government doesn't really have any constitutional authority to control education, but they do anyway. Their motives are well intended-however the emphasis on test after test so "no child is left behind" can be a pain at times. Good: Accountability Bad: Limitations. Shouldn't mandate something unless you are willing to stand behind and back up what is expected and to pay for carrying out mandate

GOOD Authors W.H. Howard and Mary Rice Crenshaw developed a model school, Turning Good Teachers into Great Teachers: Turning Green Apples to Red Apples that transformed an unsatisfactory school to average. According to the authors, “NCLB focuses on schools districts’ ability to align curricula and lesson plans with State standards, ensure that students can perform critical thinking skills and teachers’ ability to assess State standards, to teach at grade level and to reinforce academic skills.”

Phi Delta Kappa published an article- “School Boards, why American education needs them: if school boards didn't’ exist, someone would invent them to create a link between the community and its schools, to ensure oversight of education, and increasingly to translate state and federal government mandates for local use.” One of the articles main ideas is how the mandates given to the school board provide them with guidelines to help local educators and schools make connections with the community to create a culture that supports raising student achievement.

BAD According to Richard Allington and the Journal of Teacher Education “Federal and state mandates on standards and testing are narrowing the curriculum and are focused on the lowest levels of learning. Federal efforts to establish so- called “proven” programs as the mandated curriculum work against filling classrooms with powerful teaching provided by engaged, expert teachers.”

No Child Left Behind South Carolina State Report Card AYP status: Not Met What does President Obama think about NCLB?

What some suggest to do… In the Critical Studies of Education Jacqueline Edmondson and Alexandra D’Urso suggest three goals for policy makers: “Education polices should provide access to information” “Education policies should have the primary focus of caring for all children well” “Education policies must accept that literacy is complex and ever changing, and thereby challenge simplified solutions to the teaching of reading.”

State and Federal mandates provide education with guidelines and funding but often come with strict limitations and unreachable goals.

References Allington, R. L. (2005). IGNORING THE POLICY MAKERS TO IMPROVE TEACHER PREPARATION. Journal of Teacher Education, 56(3), doi: / Edmondson, J., & D'Urso, A. (2009). Considering Alternatives for Federal Education Policy in the United States: A Critical Perspective on No Child Left Behind. Critical Studies in Education, 50(1), Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Howard, W. C., & Rice-Crenshaw, M. (2006). No Child Left Behind: A Successful Implementation. Education, 126(3), Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Resnick, M A, & Bryant, A L (March 2010). School Boards why American education needs them: if school boards didn't exist, someone would invent them to create a link between the community and its schools, to ensure oversight of education, and, increasingly, to translate state and federal government mandates for local use. Phi Delta Kappan, 91, 6. p.11(4). Retrieved January 16, 2011, from Educator's Reference Complete via Gale: coastal.edu/gtx/start.do?prodId=PROF&userGroupName=coastcui_kimbel