Standardization and Imperialism…

How do state or federal mandates affect education and society?

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) These reforms express my deep belief in our public schools and their mission to build the mind and character of every child, from every background, in every part of America. President George W. Bush January 2001

Purpose Close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, parental choices, and research-based reforms

History President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965 Title I and ESEA coordinated through Improving America’s Schools Act, 1994 Reauthorization of ESEA - No Child Left Behind,

Goals ALL students will attain proficiency or better in reading and mathematics by ALL limited English students will become proficient in English ALL teachers will be highly qualified by ALL students will be educated in safe, drug-free environments ALL students will graduate from high school

Key points Accountability Teacher Quality Options and Choices for Parents Instructional Methods Flexibility

Accountability Testing Requirements Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Consequences Public Reporting

Adequate Yearly Progress - Example % 95% 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 40%BaselineTarget %Target ACCOUNTABILITY

Teacher quality All core academic subject area teachers not highly qualified must meet the requirements by

Options and choices for parents Increased parent notification and reporting requirements for all districts –Emphasis on parental involvement School Improvement Status Schools: –Transfer option to schools not identified for improvement –Supplemental services provided outside the school day

Summary Assessment for ALL students Accountability for ALL students Public reporting for ALL schools Increased options for ALL parents Highly qualified personnel in ALL schools Dollars to classrooms in ALL schools

Key dates… Annual assessment of Limited English Proficiency students Biennial NAEP testing in grades 4 and 8 in reading and math States and districts distribute annual report cards based on NCLB requirements Annual assessment in math and reading/language arts at least once in grades 3-5, 6-9, Annual assessments of reading and math in grades 3-8 (fall) All public and charter school teachers must meet standards of high quality 2006-States must have science standards established 2014-All students must be proficient in reading and math

What are the pros and cons to federally mandated educational policy ProsCons

NCLB?? No Child Left Untested Every Child Left Behind No Teacher Left Untested No Puppy Left Unfed –No one could possibly “be against” leaving no child behind, just as no one could be against starving puppies! Test and Burn Front: No Child Left Behind Front: No Child Left Behind –Back: As long as you are white, middle class, and Christian No Child left on Their Behind!!!!!!!! That is what we say in the Physical Education world. aNother Conservative-initiated program for Liberals to Bitch about aNother Conservative-initiated program for Liberals to Bitch about Many Children Left Behind by Debra Meier, Alfie Kohn, etc. Many Children Left Behind by Debra Meier, Alfie Kohn, etc.

Secretary of Education- Rod Paige National Education Association (NEA) is a “terrorist organization” for criticizing NCLB April “All things being equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for Christian values where a child is taught to have a strong faith.”

Equity Claims for NCLB don’t pass the test… A huge increase in financial responsibility to schools with no more federal money provided… Some estimates say that the new federal law will require states to give more than 200 tests at a cost of more than $7 Billion dollars Many studies show that standardized testing does not lead to increased student achievement but may in fact reduce it and lead to higher dropout rates.” (New York Times, 12/28/02)

May narrow the focus of what teachers do in class Limit the ability to serve the broader needs of students and their communities Pushes struggling students out of school Adopt developmentally inappropriate practices for young children to get them prepared for the test

All the focus on test scores means that little energy is left for imagination, creativity, intrinsic motivation, intuition, spontaneity, and children

HQT Makes understanding the process of teaching and learning take a back seat to knowing the facts of a subject area 93% of white teacher candidate passed the testing necessary 73% of African American candidates passed the same test Over-reliance on high stakes testing of teachers mirrors the existing race and class inequities and ultimately denies many teachers of color access to the teaching field. Attack on teacher education programs- leading to alternative licensure and deregulation and for-profit programs

HQT? Kati Haycock, 2000 (Education Trust) –Students in high poverty schools were more than twice as likely to have teachers who weren’t certified in the subject areas that they were teaching –Students in schools that had a population of 90% of more of African American and Latino students were twice as likely to have teachers with no certification at all

HQT? July 2001 The New York Times –50 percent of the teachers in urban schools leave teaching within their first five years

Empirically Researched Instructional Methods? Education and the Cult of Efficiency “Acquisition of earning” (not learning) “Education that does not promote the desire for earning… is not worth the getting.”

Accountability? Law’s punitive measure to not passing high stakes test is problematic Any extra funding will go to magnet schools through vouchers or school choice programs, not to ensure improvement of present conditions

Accountability? Adding special education students and students with limited English language proficiency does not improve their situation and holds schools responsible to an unfair expectation

Accountability? Testing requirements are so high that in some states over 90% of the schools will not meet the standards

Accountability? Inequality in test scores is one indicator of school performance. But test scores also reflect other inequalities.

Accountability? Ten percent of white children live in poverty whereas 35% of Black and Latino children live in poverty.

Accountability? 14% of whites have no health insurance whereas 20% of Blacks and 30% of Latinos have no health insurance

Accountability? Why isn’t our political system addressing this inequity.

George Bush has run a privatizing mania… –We are defending the very concept of a public sector that serves the common good –We must promote policies for equitable funding, smaller class sizes, programs to enhance teacher quality, regardless of race, color, nationality, or zip code

“The administration likes to talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations and how this law fights that. But what about the hard bigotry of high expectations without adequate resources?” (Washington Post, 1/2/03)

Dr. Sobol- (initiator of the standards movement) the high stakes nature of testing affect those that “are usually poor and disproportionately of color…this is beyond illegal and unfair-this is immoral”. (cited in Kozol, 2005)