A Change to No Child Left Behind

The Obama Administration is planning a change in the No Child Left Behind law. There has been a lot of grumbling about the proposed changes and what they might look like for a few months now. First the administration announced the initiative "Race to the Top" which was their way of encouraging schools to make changes, including dismissing ineffective teachers. I believe that many states have applied for the program, but there were some that didn't qualify. The main difference is less emphasis on standardized test scores. Under the current law, every school would have been on the failing list because by 2014, each school had to have 100% of its students meeting goal on the state standardized test. This was impossible and if we reached 2014 with the current law intact, it would have been the tipping point. For now, the administration wants to make significant changes, including getting rid of the goal for 2014. Now there is a different goal: All students are college ready or career ready by 2020. These are admirable goals, but I feel that NCLB needs to have a significant parental component. There are parents that do not understand nor accept their responsibility in their child's education. It is frustrating when they think that the school can do it all. In order for there to be true education reform, parents have to play a part.

BBC