No Child Left Behind Law Powerpoint Slid

The “No Child Left Behind” Federal Law : 

The “No Child Left Behind” Federal Law

I. Introduction : 

I. Introduction Why is the education system failing and needing improvement in this country? Last week on March 10, 2010, the Kansas City Missouri Board of Education voted to close almost half of its public schools due to budget cuts, declining enrollment, and a 50 million dollar deficit. Also, more than a quarter of Detroit, Michigan’s public schools will close its doors next year because of declining enrollment and a budget deficit of more than 219 million dollars. Most other cities, too, such as New York and Chicago, are also facing problems with education.

Slide 3: 

I’m sure that most of us at some point have heard about problems with education all across our country; if not in our own community, then certainly in the newspaper, or on radio and television. So what has the federal government done to help the states improve the quality of education? Under former President George W. Bush, the “No Child Left Behind” was signed into law on 01/08/2002. Under this law each state is to set high standards and establish measurable goals that will improve individual outcomes in education. Also, the law requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades, if those states are to receive federal funding for schools.

Slide 4: 

Further, because I am aware of educational problems in our society, I would like to point out the positive and negative impacts of the “No Child Left Behind” federal law. I will discuss the positive effects or pro supporting views of “No Child Left Behind.” Afterwards, I will point out the negative causes or con views of why it failed. I will begin with the positive effects of having the “No Child Left Behind” program.

II. Body : 

II. Body A. The positive effects of having “No Child Left Behind (NCLB).” 1. NCLB emphasizes reading, writing, and math. 2. NCLB measures educational status and growth by ethnicity, and helps close the achievement gap between white and minority students. 3. Standards are set for teacher qualifications. 4. Parents are provided annually with a detailed report of student achievement, and explanations are provided of achievement levels.

Slide 6: 

The negative causes or con views of why NCLB failed. 1. The program is federally underfunded. As a result most states have been forced to budget cuts in non-tested school subjects such as science, foreign languages, social studies and art programs, and for books, field trips, and school supplies. 2. Since states set their own standards and write their own standardized NCLB tests, states can compensate for inadequate student performance by setting very low standards and making tests unusually easy. Also, critics argue that standardized tests contain cultural biases, and that educational quality can’t necessarily be evaluated by objective testing. 3. NCLB cites major problems in obtaining qualified teachers in the subjects of special education, science, and math; and in rural/inner city areas where school districts already have teacher shortages. 4. NCLB ignores many vital subjects, including science, history, and foreign languages.

III. Conclusion : 

III. Conclusion So today I have discussed the positive effects of having the NCLB law. Also, I have discussed the negative causes of having the NCLB law. Further, as I stated earlier, I am aware of educational problems in our society; and I am sure most of us here are aware of these problems by either reading the newspaper, or listening to radio and television.

Conclusion (continued) : 

Conclusion (continued) Due to the negative reasons why the NCLB law is a failure, much work needs to be done to improve educational quality in our country. President Obama has pledged to insure that the current NCLB law gets reformed; but so far Congress has not passed any new changes to the law.