Thomas F. Risberg · April 2011
79 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 890 (2011)
The No Child Left Behind Act (“NCLB”) requires states to create standards, test those standards, have a certain percentage of students be deemed proficient based on the tests, and show improvement on the tests in order to receive certain federal funds. These provisions in NCLB should lead to clearer student outcomes and greater accountability for states, school districts, teachers, and, ultimately, students. However, NCLB has major flaws that prevent it from being successful.
This Note argues that NCLB must be amended so that the dispensation of federal funds to the states is tied to their willingness to adopt a national standard and assess their students’ achievement using a national test. The proposed amendments would fix three flaws in NCLB. First, states would no longer have the incentive or the ability to lower standards and create simple tests; instead, students throughout the country would take the same tests based on the same standards. Second, wasteful spending on duplicative tests would stop because all students would take the same federally created test. Finally, the amendments would allow meaningful comparison of students around the country, allowing educators to cull the best practices being used in different states.
Part I of this Note addresses the history of federal involvement in education. Part II discusses the purpose of NCLB and why the Act is not fulfilling this purpose. Part III sets forth and explains the proposed amendments. Part IV identifies the possible proposals to fix NCLB, the pros and cons of each, and why creating voluntary national standards and tests is the best solution. Finally, Part V addresses arguments against the adoption of federally created national standards and tests.
