Signed into law in 2002, the federal No Child Left Behind Act
NCLB promised to revolutionize American public education.
Originally supported by a bipartisan coalition, it purports to
improve public schools by enforcing a system of standards and
accountability through high-stakes testing. Many people supported
it originally, despite doubts, because of its promise especially to
improve the way schools serve poor children. By making federal
funding contingent on accepting a system of tests and sanctions, it
is radically affecting the life of schools around the
country.
But, argue the authors of this citizen''s guide to the most
important political issue in education, far from improving public
schools and increasing the ability of the system to serve poor and
minority children, the law is doing exactly the opposite. Here some
of our most prominent, respected voices in education-including
school innovator Deborah Meier, education activist Alfie Kohn, and
founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools Theodore R.
Sizer-come together to show us how, point by point, NCLB undermines
the things it claims to improve:
* How NCLB punishes rather than helps poor and minority kids and
their schools
* How NCLB helps further an agenda of privatization and an attack
on public schools
* How the focus on testing and test preparation dumbs down
classrooms
* And they put forward a richly articulated vision of
alternatives.
Educators and parents around the country are feeling the harshly
counterproductive effects of NCLB. This book is an essential guide
to understanding what''s wrong and where we should go from here.