Educational Psychology Abstract: Teaching Left Behind

The article "Teaching Left Behind" by Edward J. McElroy, President of the American Federation of Teachers, comes from the 'Teacher to Teacher' section of the www.TeachingK-8.com Website for May of 2005. The main subject of the article is the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. While originally intended to help many children succeed, the implication may be that the Act is also hurting teachers with some of the provisions that it has. The intentions of the Act are good, as it was originally designed to raise standards and to especially help children that were disadvantaged in some way to catch up with their peers and remain there. Some of the ways that the Act intended to do this was to ensure that all classrooms had good quality teachers, and that both students and schools received help to turn around problems that they were facing. However, there have been upsetting consequences of this Act, such as assessment problems for students, and putting too much emphasis on one particular test over the other work that the student has done that school year. Schools also have to make 'Adequate Yearly Progress,' but if this is not met, the school fails -- regardless of the progress that it might have made. There is no reward for progress, in other words, unless it satisfies certain conditions set forth by the act. Students in schools that are failing can go to Supplemental Service Providers such as tutors, or they can get vouchers to attend charter schools. However, neither one of these options is held to the same standards as public schools, so there is certainly no guarantee that these children will learn more or fare better with these alternate arrangements. While it is easy to see why there should be accountability in schools, this article shows that there are many different ways of looking at the issue, and that there are problems that are being seen based on the Act. While it was only designed to help, it may be doing more harm than good and should not be abandoned but should be amended and adjusted until every student receives the promised benefits.