NCLB/Race to the Top Against the Special Needs
Nagita Sykes
DeVry University

NCLB/Race to the Top Against the Special Needs

Nadia is a bright, outgoing and caring child that was born with some issues that started to effect her at a young age. At the age of 2 I noticed that she was not speaking like other children her age and I also noticed she was not catching on to basic social skills that other kids were doing. Kids her age in her day care class we asking for things in three word sentances and beign able to pull down their pants when they went potty. Nadia had extreme difficulty in all these areas. I started out by taking her to the doctor and expressed my concerns and then he suggest we see a speech therapist and from there we went to see a pediatric neuropsychologist who diagnosted Nadia with pervasive development delay and said we should see help from the department of education as they have intervention for kids her age. At the time I was a single parent and also active duty in the US Army and did not know how this child was about to change my life and how I viewed kids with any disabilities. She was finally at the age of 7 diagnosed with Expressive Language Delay and ADD with some developmental delays. All this was new to me and I did not know how this would affect my child in the public education system. From each grade Nadia had a hard time concentrating, being at grade level with English and Math. She also had short term memory issues and being able to express herself verbally and in writing. As she passed each grade we finally got to the grade where they started state level test. Due to me being in the military we moved a lot during her time in elementary school. She was given modifications in her individual education plan when these tests would be administered. She never passed any test and that would lead to more problems as we got older and then it happened when we moved to New York City and I was told that she would not be promoted to the next grade. I knew about the No Child Left Behind and from the name of it I thought it meant exactnly what it says, that no child will be left behind. The No Child Left Behind Act was actually created to help students, teachers and schools test better and be better prepared for either college or a technical trade school. Instead this law has caused one group of the student population to be left out and the needs of special education students have been not taken into account. I have seen this law with the test that it gives my child cause extreme anxiety and self-esteem issues that had to be dealt with by her seeing a psychologist. The No Child Left Behind law has caused major problems with our schools and it has shown over the years that our test scores are dropping, graduation rate is low and we are not preparing our children for college. State budgets are being affected by this law and students that have the biggest challenge are being put to the way side and being treated as second-class citizens. Problems with this law is that it requires students with special needs who may not be academically at the test level to take the test and it is proven that these students are not able to pass these exams. It is a major issue that has not been addressed because of no one challenging the law and showing how this is affecting the moral of these students and is not preparing these kids to be productive citizens. I am a parent to a special needs child and I am also an elected member to the Citywide Council on Special Education. As a parent and advocate to my child and other children who may not have the knowledge I have seen the mental effects of this testing process with my own child who develops anxiety every year when these tests are required. I care deeply about education and will refer to several sources that will support my ideas on how the needs of special education students are not being met. With the help of Randolph, K. & Wilson-Younger D. (2012) who are familiar with this area that I have some credibility in this department. I propose that we end the requirement of state standardized test on students with special needs and implement the test that is based on their age or own academic level. I feel this will have our students be successful to not cause any anxiety, it will also reduce the stress of the test and have them feel more comfortable when being administered the test and it will also be able to help teachers see exactly where their students are and where they need to go. Randolph and Younger (2012) points out that the No Child Left Behind has some major requirements of schools and also how it was implemented. The law states that if schools don’t make annual yearly progress (AYP) for at least three years in a row, they must provide free tutoring and supplemental educational services. There are many educators and parents who have expressed many concerns three major concern that students are taught to memorize test answers rather than learn the basic learning materials, how good teachers remain passionate poor and mediocre teachers are able to stay because of this program, and with a new teacher evaluation system that no state and union seems to agree upon. The most pressing issue is the fact that students are not getting the education they are entitled to but are being forced to learn and master tests. Through this program they are not only expected to get a proficient they are also expected to grade higher than the previous year. They are not taught the basic material such as reading, writing, and math they spend more time on actual material and test taking strategies to be able to take the entire test. Let’s not bring up special needs kids who are required to take the same test even though they may not even be at that level academically.
I feel that we should replace standardized tests with end-of-year subject tests is to convince readers that changing assessments in education will improve education, and a strong educational system will result in several positive outcomes. The problems and their outcomes as well as the solution are the result of thorough research on these tests. Everyone is affected by the strength of our educational system, from the students themselves and their ability to succeed in college and in the workplace, to the employers who hire them—and everyone in between. Every taxpayer is a stakeholder in education, because these tests are paid for by tax dollars, and the return on investment in education is not where it should be. Standardized tests should be abolished and replaced with end-of-year subject tests because they will save time and money, lead to increased mastery of core subjects, and diminish dropout rates. Randolph and Younger are right in their facts and feeling on what parents are thinking about the No Child Left Behind. There are still questions that need to be answered and they feel the act has many unresolved issues that parents and educators have expressed concerns on whether their children are being taught to the test. Not only are parents feeling the burden but so are schools because districts are seeing budgets reduced and still expected to accomplish perfected results. Over the years and since this law has been created Congress has even reduced budgets from key programs. I hope that at some point in the future this law will see major reform and abolished all together.

Figure 1: President Obama is flanked by members of Congress and students when he signs the Race to the Top and just adds more fluff to an already horrible law that needs to end. Source: http://educationnext.org/the-future-of-no-child-left-behind/.
As shown in Figure 1, NCLB was signed into law in 2002, and the image just shows how delicate a law effects our children and no matter how much you try to fix it the real law needs to be removed with real reform. The law has been around for 10 + years and has proved that it is flawed and it has failed our kids and educators. It has shown only average progress in achievements.

References
Randolph, K. & Wilson-Younger D. (2012). Is No Child Left Behind Effective for all Students, Parents Don’t Think So. Retrieved on January 29, 2014, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED536444.pdf
Miller, C. (2013) A Special Educator Shares Her Perspective on the Common Core State Standards. Retrieved on February 5, 2014 from http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/common-core-standards/special-educator-shares-her-perspective-common-core-standards
Yatvin, J. (2014). The Common Core Standards May be Harmful to Children. The Chalk Face Blog. Retrieved from http://atthechalkface.com/2014/01/05/joanne-yatvin-the-common- core-standards-may-be-harmful-to-children/
Kozol, J. (2013) This Is Only a Test, ‘Reign of Error’, by Diane Ravitch. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/books/review/reign-of-error-by- diane-ravitch.html?_r=1&
Landes, J. (2014) Not With My Child You Won’t! Mental health harms to children caused by Common core premises, standards and assessments. Retrieved from http://psychouttheopposition.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/not-with-my-child-you-dont/
Plastiras, J. (2013) Tkaczyk Calls on State Ed Dept to Study Impact of Common Core, Testing on Children with Special Needs. Retrieved from http://www.nysenate.gov/press- release/tkaczyk-calls-state-ed-dept-study-impact-common-core-testing-children-special- needs