Daily Rant - Education!
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Dear ConvinceYourMom.com, For the past 15 years I have been a special education teacher in the public school system. I am also the mother of three public education graduates and feel that they have received an excellent education and were well prepared through their public school education to attend competitive universities. Because of my involvement in education both on a personal and professional level, I am concerned about some aspects of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 passed by the Bush Administration. This act, originally known as the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) of 1965, provides funds and guidelines for education in the United States. The revised law mandates testing for proficiency in the areas of language arts and math for 3rd, 8th and 11th grade students. Another mandate calls for all teachers to be deemed highly qualified. The National Educators Association as well as the American Federation of Teachers have both supported aspects of the new bill including high expectations of students and accountability. As a special education teacher and a member of the Educational Association of Morris County, and the New Jersey Education Association, I, too, am an advocate for improved success of all students. However, there are some aspects of the law that I believe are in need of reform: Alternative ways of measuring success or adequate yearly progress are needed. At the moment only standardized tests are accepted to determine if a student is making progress. This discriminates against English as a second language students and special education students, all of whom are required to take the proficiency tests. I can attest to this directly because the school district in which I work and the school, which my children attended were both named deficient by the new federal standards. The high school that my children attended has been rated as one of the top five high schools in the state. Yet both schools, along with others in the area, failed because one or two special education students either did not take the test or did not score in the proficient range. Each special education student has an Individual Educational Plan, also mandated by the government through the Individuals with Disabilities Act. It is through this IEP that adequate yearly progress should be measured. As a special education teacher I have witnessed the anguish and distress that a student with special needs experiences when he or she is required to take a test in which they cannot be successful. They may cry, refuse to continue the test, become so fatigued that they cannot continue, or they rush through the test to just get it done. One cannot get a fair assessment of their progress under these conditions. In September of 2003 a leadership group in New Jersey comprised of teachers, school administrators, parents and school board members, submitted recommendations for solutions to the problems with the No Child Left Behind Act. Among other issues these solutions dealt with the special education population and inadequate funding considerations. A year later none of these recommendations have been addressed. The Bush Administration has had a chance to show their sincerity and belief in public education, but has fallen short. It has not taken into consideration the recommendations of educators and school administrators. It has failed to supply the funding that is needed to meet the expectations of this bill. For instance, in New Jersey the cost of implementing a new testing program is more than $35 million. The amount that the federal government is giving to each state is $12 million. This will force states to choose lower cost tests, which may not be suitable. Or states will need to use other funds to cover the cost of testing. This leads to a situation where schools, and this has happened in my district, cannot afford to hire enough teachers. The end result is an increase in class size, which is detrimental to student learning and success. According to the Kerry campaign platform, John Kerry is committed to reducing class size and providing better early childhood education programs, which will enable young children to be ready for school as well as expanding after school programs. Most importantly, Kerry has insisted that the federal government will act responsibly in terms of providing the necessary funding. He has also said that testing will be used to help make improvements in student learning rather than to intimidate and punish districts. Signed, Marilyn M. |
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