NCLB - Great Idea.... In Theory

I recently finished the book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System" by Diane Ravitch.  Below is my posting on our school website which gives an overall opinion on one topic from the book:

I will start his off by saying that I have only been in education for four years.  However, I think that, in some ways, that is an advantage when it comes to assessing some of the issues Diane Ravitch focuses on in this book.  While I don’t have the many years of experience that many of my colleagues do, I can offer a simplistic viewpoint of a “newbie” who has many years of experience dealing with Corporate America.

I have to say that the combination of reading this book and observing how education works has struck a nerve with me.  As teachers, we are constantly under fire from numerous angles, yet I truly believe that we are all trying our hardest to do what is right for the students.  However, what others fail to realize, is that our hands are tied in many areas.  

The main issues I see is NCLB.  Ms. Ravitch does a great job summarizing what NCLB was meant to do, and, unfortunately what it has done.  A valiant idea has forced teachers to “teach to the test”.  I see so many teachers who have to alter their curriculum in order to prepare students for testing.  Weeks of practice and repetition in order help our students achieve a proficient score on a test that the state makes, and deems as an accurate measure of “learning”?  To me, it seems like we are teaching them how to take a test rather than focusing on learning.

In addition, while I agree that Math and Language Arts should be the key areas for students, I keep seeing examples of other subjects being pushed aside.  What happened to developing a well-rounded student?  How about focusing on those students who excel in Art, Music or Science?

Lastly, the goal of 100% proficiency by the year 2013/2014 is  a perfect example of a great sounding idea from someone painfully unaware of the education system.  While we should all strive for this goal, it is very unfair to punish schools who do not meet these standards, when we all know, they are impossible to reach given the structure of the program.

Like so many of my colleagues have mentioned above, why doesn’t anyone ask the people in the trenches, educators, to help reform what everyone else thinks is broken?