The No Child Left Behind Act

The No Child Left Behind Act

Introduction

The No Child Left Behind Act was passed in order to benefit the American youth by providing them better education. The act throws light on the current scenario of the education system and gives a description of the current focus of the education system. The No Child Left Behind Act has several pros and cons; however, President Obama is making an effort o reform the act to increase its effectiveness (White, 2012).

This law was proposed by President George W. Bush in 2001. It supported many federal government programs that were aimed at improving the education standard at schools in every state. One of the new things implemented in the law was that parents were given the freedom to choose the schools in which they would like their children to study. In order to measure its success, the aim of the law was to increase the math and reading scores throughout the country (Henry, 2004).

The objective of the No Child Left Behind Act is to ensure that all the students achieve their full academic potential. Funding is provided by the federal government and divided into a few sections. These include funding to bring qualified educators for disadvantaged students, children in detention centers get access to education, improving the quality of principals and teachers, emphasizing on coaching and grooming, improvement of technology at schools in order to improve the quality of education, and to provide a safe environment where academic success can be sustained (Dworkin ,2005).

One major problem noticed is that schools are continuously reducing the difficulty level of their courses in order to ensure that students get a higher grade. This would eventually increase the ranking of the school at the expense of the students learning. This act overcomes this problem by providing schools the curriculum that needs to be followed all over the country. This would ensure that schools provide the same level of benefit. The current student scores at math and English are quite high but when their level of knowledge of the subject is measures, the results are the opposite. This shows the level of education being provided to students This is one of several benefits that this act brings to students of the United States (Henry, 2004).

People Against the Act

Although the No Child Left Behind Act can be seen as a great advantage to the youth of the country, there are some people who oppose it. One major concern is that the federal government is going beyond its limits. People believe that the state should determine the level of education being provided in the state and the amount of funding. However, the federal government is passing an act which would increase the financial burden on the states. People argue that the federal government is making a mistake b setting a standard for the quality of education being offered at all levels. Teachers are also being expected to perform at a certain level in order to meet the demands ...