No Child Left Behind: The Good, The Bad, and the Test Scores

Our Ed Psych class recently had the opportunity to host some guests, in welcoming administrators from the Decorah school district. The preceding topic of discussion in class had been the pros and cons of No Child Left Behind, and what that meant for future teachers.

One issue that repeatedly came up was the focus No Child Left Behind places on test scores. While most teachers would give you their two cents worth (probably not two thumbs up!) when it comes to No Child Left Behind, administrators will do their administrative duty and defend the commands from their higher-ups from the state and federal educational agencies. In our lecture with the administrators from Decorah, I knew they would defend NCLB (as it is their duty), but I was surprised to sense some genuine support coming from these two. Both having come from some form of teaching experience, they see the legitimacy in teachers complaints that some of the standards presented by NCLB are setting students, teachers, and schools up for failure. However well-intentioned the politicians and educational lobbyists who pushed for this national education reform were, there are bound to flaws in any such legislation. Despite NCLB''s pitfalls, it has introduced us to what seems will become a hugely important factor in making decisions about education: analyzing hard data.

Although many teachers and dissidents may credibly argue that relying nearly completely on test score results for making decisions may be foolish, not recognizing the implications or importance of hard data would be a rather brash dismissal. The single point that seem to repeat itself during the question & answer session with our guests was the importance of analyzing data.

There are new studies being published all the time, and as long as these research projects are done scientifically and non-biased, they offer amazing potential ideas for improving educational methods and systems. The administrators (and the school board members who graced us with their presence a week later) let us know how much of their current time is centered around analyzing the new data they see.

In a technology-driven, instant gratification world, it's important to quickly integrate new ideas and utilize information efficiently. Like the cliché goes, "Knowledge is Power." Or as the education world is now, DATA is Power!