No child left behind act was enacted by the federal government in 2001, and its main objective was to uplift performance of schools in America through several directives that the teachers ought to follow strictly. A lot of emphasis is provided by the act on the importance of teachers giving standardized testing in order to measure the level of achievement of the student. According to the act, the teacher should always monitor the trend in improvement of the student in areas of reading mathematics as well as sciences. (Evans, 2005)
There are a few general principles that are supposed to be followed by teachers to enhance performance of students. These includes; the quality of teacher whereby, the act requires them to be highly qualified. The act defines a high qualified teacher as one who holds a bachelors degree and is fully licensed by the state to teach. The teacher must also prove that, he/she has a masterly in the subjects being taught with a major and in addition a credit equivalent to it. A teacher should also have passed a test that is state-developed. According to the NCLB; it is therefore a requirement for the state to determine the extent to which schools have received highly qualified teachers to serve especially the minority students and those who are mentally on physically disadvantaged. Proof of such qualifications may be provided by the teaching experience the teacher has with a combination of his/her professional development and wide range of knowledge obtained over time in the profession in the particular subject. (Domazlicky, 2006)
Regarding the testing of students, “no student left behind act” requires that, the method of evaluation to have a high objective and be uniformly standardized for all the students. Testing of student should also be continuous and consistent in order to measure level of achievement and instill confidence among teachers and students in preparation for the next concepts within the content of the course being undertaken. Teachers are supposed to guide students in research that are scientifically based in addition to letting the student have a free choice of the public schools they would wish to join. (Evans, 2005)
Following the implementation of NCLB, accountability has improved in public schools because of variety of options for children by their parents. The gap between the minority students and the white has also significantly reduced and therefore, there has been a general progress in performance. However, it has been disappointing because research indicates that; standardized testing is being manipulated by exempting low academic achievers from sitting for the test in order to preserve the image of the school. Bureaucratic testing through multiple choices questions has also reduced creativity among students and therefore critics are against NCLB and are supporting power be taken back to the states. (Domazlicky, 2006)
The directives given by NCLB; according to my opinion, have the potential to bring a positive change in development of the students performance because they will always be in the hands of highly qualified teachers. These teachers have passed through several tests and received approval by the state. Students will also have a learning culture that is achievement-oriented through a series of tests administered with adequate individual attention to test for the different abilities of students. Over years, experience has taught me that, annul testing would build confidence among student and teachers as it would offer enough indicators on where immediate improvement is needed, in preparation for final examinations. (Domazlicky, 2006)
References
Domazlicky B. (2006): Student achievement and efficiency in Missouri schools and the No Child Left Behind Act: Elsevier pp26-30
Evans B. (2005): No Child Left Behind: Repealing and unpeeling federal language education policy in the United States: Springer pp35-38