Down with the Department of Education

Down with the Department of Education

Down with the Department of Education and NCLB The department of education is continually lowering education standards. Diane Ravitch, education adviser to the Bush administration and professor of education at New York University, called the results ‘‘truly abysmal.’’ ‘‘Since the seniors are very close to voting age or have already reached it,’’ she observed, ‘‘one can only feel alarm that they know so little about their nation’s history and express so little capacity to reflect on its meaning.’’(CATO) The department mandates everything so there for teachers are not able to teach material. Part of the mandates and how schools are rated is standardized testing which is a joke in itself. The increasing uniform policies of the department of education do not allow states to be creative or competitive. The NCLB focuses on three core areas of study, math, Language arts, and science. For example, because of the extreme pressure for scores other things like the arts and other extra curricular activities are being taken out of school. Because of this GT and AP students suffer as well. The uniformity puts GT and AP students at the same level as an average student doing away with creativity and competition. Proponents of the department and of the NCLB talk a lot about accountability and try to “justify the mandatory testing by claiming it holds schools accountable.'' Of course, everyone is in favor of holding schools accountable but accountable to whom? Under this bill, schools remain accountable to federal bureaucrats and those who develop the state tests upon which participating schools performance is judged” (Ron Paul). Control and accountability should be in the hands of schools and parents not the hands bureaucrats. “According to a recent Manhattan Institute study of the effects of state policies promoting parental control over education, a minimal increase in parental control boosts the average SAT verbal score by 21 points and the student's SAT math score by 22...

Similar Essays