No Child Left Behind

All Nines

Because making kids who can't even tie their shoes take the same state-regulated tests as normally-functioning students is going to do wonders.

My aunt, who works as a substitute teacher and who has worked with special needs students before, says that these students are still required to take the standardized tests that are made for regular students. All this will do is impede these children even further, should said test results be taken seriously, and possibly delude their parents into thinking their children have a chance at a normal life.

That was just a very specific complaint, and it was the inspiration for this thread, but looking even more closely at the law and its other parts, such as emphasizing test-taking skills over application and attempting to take measures that are beyond schools' budgets, it just seems like a horrible idea, and I'll be glad to see it go.

I haven't looked at the law in great detail and mostly wanted to complain about holding mentally retarded students to the same level as the average, since that's the only firsthand knowledge of the law that I have, so correct me if I'm wrong about anything, or at least give me further detail if you have it, but this is one of those times where I'm wondering how on Earth this law got passed in the first place.

Thorn14

Oh god, NCLB is the worst thing to happen to Education since....ever.

My dad is a retired teacher and he can tell it made life a living hell for E V E R Y teacher, and it didn't do jack shit. It didn't reward students for studying. It punished schools for not making them memorize standardized tests.

Chagen

I'd say something, but anything I'd say would sound incredibly Ableist, so I wont.

Deboss

I agree, No Child Left Behind was a bad plan, leave the slow ones behind.

Thorn14

^ Hurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

All Nines

^^^ That's not what I'm saying. We should be doing what we can for them, certainly, and as far as I know, special needs programs work perfectly fine without No Child Left Behind's intervention. We just shouldn't try to hold them to the same standards because that's helping no one. Failed my Sense Motive check. But the point stands.

Again, anyone feel free to tell me where I'm going wrong. I'm just not seeing any good in this.

Deboss

That's how I feel.

All Nines

Oh, just going for the obvious joke? Sorry about that. :P

Deboss

Not a joke.  I honestly believe in segregating student bodies by learning speed in subject.

All Nines

Oh. Jeez, I'm misinterpreting you left and right. But I agree, technically; I think the current system (separating kids through honors classes) works fine. It's just that the way you phrased it made it seem a little sarcastic. My bad.

glennmagusharvey

Deboss is a misanthrope; you didn't know that?

As for NCLB, it seems to follow the idea of "if you force someone to do well, they will magically do well".  Well, that only happens if you're dealing with people who are able but slackers.  For everyone else, this approach will be at best a headache (for people who already do well enough in school and have better things to think about) and at worst a very severe and unnecessary burden (for those who just keep on falling behind).

The fact that it was a bunch of unfunded mandates does not help.

All Nines

^ I did not know that about Deboss. All I knew about him was that he hates the arts. And I don't think I'll ever understand how someone can use an interactive forum and call him/herself a misanthrope.

glennmagusharvey

I think he also hates lawyers, hippies, art majors, and various other groups of people.

Granted, it's more like he's a mis-stereotypanthrope.

Deboss

I do it for lulz.  I dislike people at a ratio of about 64.83%.  A forum is nice because I don't have to put up with shit I don't like while still talking when the mood strikes me.  My misanthropy is mentioned in like the first five sentences of my tropers page.

Probably the biggest issue I have with current education standards is that they're time based rather than completionary based.  So you get requirements like "4 years of subject X in HS" rather than "be this proficient with subject X by the end of your education" which is where things like standardized tests can really help.

Thorn14

"I do it for lulz.  I dislike people at a ratio of about 64.83%.  A forum
is nice because I don't have to put up with shit I don't like while
still talking when the mood strikes me.  My misanthropy is mentioned in
like the first five sentences of my tropers page."

Oh okay, thanks for letting me know not to take you seriously, ever.

Also some people are honestly bad at taking test, and can you imagine the PRESSURE children would have over "if you fail this test you gotta repeat another year"?

You may as well just tell the children "CHEAT OR YOU FAIL"

Deboss

Why in the world would you take somebody on the internet seriously?

Hey, it works for colleges.  Then again, the standardized tests are mostly there for the benefit of those who learn faster on their own since they won't have to waste time in classes that they already know.