LEAVING BEHIND DETAILS
January 28 2008
By Marion


BOSTON—In his State of the Union Address on Monday, President George W. Bush spoke of the successes his No Child Left Behind Act generated, but avoided any mention of the law’s critics who say it has hurt many of the nation’s schools.

The law, passed in 2002, requires each state to create standards in reading and math. The purpose is to have every student proficient in these areas by 2014.

“And today no one can deny its results,” said Bush on the NCLB. He referred to the fact that “last year the 4th and 8th graders achieved the highest math scores on record” and that “African American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs,” which received a loud applause from Congress. Bush said the law needs restructuring in order to “increase accountability and flexibility for states and districts, reduce the number of high school dropouts and provide extra help for struggling schools.”

Bush did not address the argument by Democrats who say that thousands of schools are failing since the bill was passed and are subject to reform or even closure.

Teachers are complaining that other teachers are losing focus on getting children excited about learning and instead are only preparing students for the contents of the exams.

“We should also do more for children when their schools do not measure up,” said Bush and then referred to the DC Opportunity Scholarships, which he said, got “more than 2,600 of the poorest children in our nation’s capitol” into “faith-based or other nonpublic schools,” he said.

Bush wants to push “a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids,” which should help sponsor children from failing schools to attend non-public schools.

Another controversy arose over “Pell Grants for Kids” because it asks for funding in form of, what critics consider, vouchers to support children in attending private schools at low to zero cost. This generates concerns in Democrats and other critics about reduction in actual public school funding and also that it will not necessarily improve the performance of these students.