"No Child" Left Behind

Obama Makes His Own Statement On Education

As a future educator the thought of losing federal funding due to low test scores has always seemed like a broken system.  A school that is under-performing should instead be receiving additional support so as to raise the standards and improve the education of those students.  So from the standpoint that states will have the "freedom" to implement their own standards and not risk losing federal funding, I'm in favor of President Obama's new education policy.

 As a student, who missed out on two weeks of class and countless hours of class-time that could have been spent on actually learning material because we were practicing taking tests, I know that the future of education (even in the hands of the states) includes millions of dollars spent on standardized testing in order to determine if students are meeting the standards set by each state.  Yet, this system is not truly being stripped of it's flaws, instead the buck is being passed from the federal government to the states to take the brunt of the blame (or praise) for the condition of America's schools.

As a resident of Massachusetts, one of the highest achieving states on standardized testing and one of the best states in the country for post-secondary education, I have to say that we don't have it perfect here either.  Yes, the results say that most districts are improving their test scores, but that is not to say our schools are adequately preparing students for life after graduation.  Education has come a long way, yet even here in Massachusetts, there is no time to sit back and feel good because children are still being "left behind" and the focus should be moved from "teaching to the test" to an approach that embraces teaching to learn.  Once a student is taught how to learn effectively on their own, given the necessary tools in literacy and analytic thinking, then they can be successful in today's global workplace.

Ultimately, kudos to the Obama Administration for admitting the flaws in the system and still highlighting the honest attempt to improve America's schools, but at the same time, the ball is in the hands of the states now, it is up to them to fix the system and turn around under-performing schools and give American students the education they deserve.

-MB