Signed into law in 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was America’s hope for improving the education of America’s children. In 2011, in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called NCLB “a broken system” and announced plans to replace it with “Race to the Top”.
This begs the question, is NCLB accomplishing its mandate? Are all of America’s children being properly educated, or are some children being left behind?
There are fervent arguments on both sides of this divisive question. The US Deptartment of Education stated that the aim of NCLB is “to improve the achievement of all students,” recognizing that “schools must ensure that all groups receive the support they need to achieve to high standards.”
Sub-groups of students with special challenges such as low-income, disabilities, inability to speak or read English, etc., have a far more difficult time meeting those standards. With a plethora of complications faced by schools and teachers, this article will be limited to one very specific population. It will show that Hispanic children whose primary language is Spanish rather than English are not well served by NCLB.
No NCLB Accommodations for ELLs
Accommodations are made in standardized testing for some challenging conditions such as visual impairments or cognitive disabilities. But for a vast number of students, such as ELLs, there are no such adjustments or allowances. They must test up to the same “high standards” as native English speakers or the school suffers. When a school fails to reach its required marks, funding may be cut. Ironically, that funding is exactly what these schools need to be able to educate these challenged students to begin with.
Language barriers and cultural differences loom huge for children and families who come to this country from other lands. These hurdles interfere with the child’s ability to learn in class, socialize with other students and become a part of the family’s new society. Authors Smith, Stern and Shatrova state in the article "Factors Inhibiting Hispanic Parents' School Involvement," that largely as a result of these issues, Hispanic students have “the highest dropout rate of any ethnic group.”
Language is the first and most palpable obstacle facing many struggling Hispanic students, whether they speak only Spanish or simply have English as a second language not spoken at home. Without additional training, the students’ English skills are weak and inadequate for them to be able to understand the complexities of classroom instruction. Most American schools do not have bilingual teachers, books and other materials used in class. Trying to understand instruction in US history or geometry is difficult enough for a seventh-grade English-speaking child. To succeed in these same classes with only rudimentary skills in English would be virtually impossible.
According to a 2011 Florida study of English Language Learners, ELLs need five to seven years of instruction and practice before they can be expected to be able to speak, understand, read and write English at a level that will allow them to produce the sort of academic work expected for scholastic success. NCLB makes no such allowance for a child to grow in their new language and catch up to their grade. Testing takes place regardless of language skills and setbacks.
Language Barrier Blocks Parent Involvement in School
Even if the student understands a limited amount of English, oft times that child’s parents understand none at all. Parental involvement is critical for students’ success. According to the Smith et al article, a study by Emory J. Hyslop-Margison notes that language barriers are found to be “the most important obstacle to Hispanic parents becoming involved with the schools.”
When the parents can neither help the child with homework nor communicate with teachers or principals, their ability to be involved is extremely limited. These parents are unable to read or understand letters or notices from school, speak with teachers about their children’s progress or concerns, or even advocate for their children when needed.
Teachers who are not proficient in Spanish cannot, without an interpreter, adequately translate their communications for the parents to understand. Using translation software such may produce confusing, mistake-ridden, and incomprehensible documents that fail to serve the needs of either the teacher or the parents.
Smith et al say, “Written communications from the school, either in English or in a difficult-to-understand Spanish translation, was identified as a major obstacle.” As a result, students and parents alike are ill-informed and never fully integrate into the school community.
Parent-teacher conferences involve voluminous and detailed communication between the parties. Some non-English-speaking parents have no choice but to use their children as interpreters making discussion of sensitive subjects awkward at best, say Smith, et al.
NCLB Requires Adequate Yearly Progress
Standardized testing shows in stark numbers those students whose education is not adequate to pass these assessments. But when found, rather than give the school the funding for interpreters, foreign language materials or further training for teachers and staff, the school can either reform their practices to meet the required “Adequate Yearly Progress” or face the consequences.
Despite this, Washington claimed as late as December, 2006 that NCLB was a success. The DOE published an informational flyer that emphatically states, “No Child Left Behind Act is Working.” It claimed that parents were receiving the information they needed about their children’s education and that reading and math scores “are at an all-time high.” More positive, according to the DOE, was the claim that the achievement gaps between white students and their African-American and Hispanic counterparts is closing.
NCLB Not Closing Achievement Gap
Other reports are not so encouraging. In his Master’s Thesis for Ohio University’s College of Education, Dustin Wood found that “the gap has only closed marginally since the introduction of No Child Left Behind.” Gains of only one to three percentage points separated 2004 math and reading scores from 18 years before, says Wood. This is hardly the progress expected for such a sweeping program.
While NCLB was designed with good intentions, it has fallen short for many of America’s children – too often the very ones it was intended to protect. Schools districts, teachers and parents alike have been clamoring for something better, a program that would not only ensure that schools and teachers are held accountable for educating their children, but also that all children in the US are beneficiaries; that this time, no child will be “left behind”.
Sources:
- Gjini, X. (2011). Experiencing the FCAT: A Study of How ELLs, Teachers and Parent Responded to a State Mandated Test in Florida. Retrieved from http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=osu1293464366
- Obama, B. (2011). State of the Union Address [Speech transcript]. Retrieved from Whitehouse Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-president-state-union-address
- Smith, Jay, Kenneth Stern, and Zhanna Shatrova. "Factors Inhibiting Hispanic Parents' School Involvement." Rural Educator (2008). Retrieved from Academic One File.
- United States Department of Education. (2005). Working Together for Students with Disabilities: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/speced/toolkit/index.html
- United States Department of Education,(2006), No Child Left Behind is Working. Retrieved from DOE Web site: http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/importance/nclbworking.pdf
- Wood, Dustin (2007). No Child Left Behind and the Achievement Gap: Contributing Factors and Trends in Student Populations. Retrieved from http://www.cehs.ohio.edu/resources/documents/Wood-F07.pdf
Elizabeth Linehan - Elizabeth studied American Sign Language at Brigham Young University. She has worked with hearing impaired and multipli-handicapped ...
Join the Conversation