Public School Education the Public

Public School Education

The Public Education System and Those it Does Not Serve

Childhood and adolescence is a time for exploration, learning, growing, making mistakes, and forming one's own identity. In these endeavors, children are often aided by the public school system and its dual functions of socially and academically preparing children. While the public schools system definitely supports some children in gaining the academic ability to participate in society in a productive way, it lets other children down. These children are caught in an endless cycle of failure, alienation, and hopelessness. The No Child Left Behind Act is blamed for much of this failure. Some argue that the No Child Left Behind Act's assessments of students leads to trouble for those from different cultural backgrounds, students with disabilities, or students who have difficulty performing well on tests. The No Child Left Behind Act certainly does account for lower graduation rates, and a "disproportionate number" of "African-American, Latino, and English-as-a-second-language" students that fail to graduate ("Negative Implications," 2008). However, it is a combination of high-stakes testing, teachers, and a school culture that too closely mimics American culture that results in the hopeless situation for some public school students.

High-stakes testing involves giving students standardized tests that include stakes, or achievements, for students, such as being able to pass to the next grade level or graduation. As part of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools are assessed using standardized tests, which allows government officials to determine whether or not the school is making enough progress. The problem occurs when the school realizes that it is being tested based on the improvements of its students, and that school is rewarded for those improvements. According to one study, "massive numbers of students left the school system" when "schools came under the accountability system" ("Negative Implications," 2008). While this made the school systems look as if it were improving, it was actually just loosing more students, those students who tended to perform poorly on standardized tests. Further, the Director of the Center for Education at Rice University stated that "High-stakes, test-based accountability doesn't lead to school improvement or equitable education possibilities" ("Negative Implications," 2008). This suggests that the testing system not only disadvantages students, but it also does nothing to benefit schools.

But what students are disadvantaged by these kinds of tests? Generally, they are students who perform poorly, the kind of students that often need the most help. They may be students who are still learning English, students who have learning disabilities, or students who simply have trouble with academic work. While the social function of the education system suggests that these students are the ones who should receive the most attention, being prepared for a life of productivity in society, the test-based system, which offers incentives for higher scores, makes it easy for administrators and teachers to not only allow these students to slide through the cracks, but actually encourage it. When administrators know that they are being assessed using student performance, they may encourage lower-performing students to drop out of school. Principals also have the means to hold these students back, which makes them more likely to drop out. In fact, the No Child Left Behind Act, and other standardized test-based programs are "increasing incentives for school administrators to allow [poorly performing] students to quietly exit the school system ("Negative Implications," 2008). Being a high school drop out in today's society is not easy for these students, many of whom may already be disadvantaged in a variety of means. When they are simply allowed and encouraged to drop out of school because of a teacher or administrator's desire to look better, the students enter a perpetual cycle of hopelessness where their lack of preparation during the crucial public school years will most likely keep them from succeeding as they continue to move through life.