Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
I always hated how teachers teach to the test. They care more about maximizing test scores than helping children develop skills that they will need when they enter the real world. For those who don't already know, I went through school prior to No Child Left Behind.
In most cases, teachers are teaching to their own tests. Usually, arguments relating to "teaching to the test" are criticizing standardized test. When I was in school, we were required to take the California Achievement Test. Curriculum was frequently based off this test, and we even spent time being taught how to take this form of standardized testing.
No Child Left Behind was a horrible law. It strengthened and enforced existing problems with the schools. I have repeatedly criticized the minimum standards approach on the grounds that the ideal education is unique for each student. Instead of fixing this problem, we pushed the same flawed concept even harder.
No Child Left Behind didn't add a single new problem to the schools. Everything in the law already existed. Certain problems became stronger and more visible, but I saw these problems when I was a slave to the system.
No Child Left Behind was a horrible law. A lot of people will agree with me on this point. Unfortunately, it has emerged as a scapegoat for our disastrous schooling system. Just about every problem people observe in our schools has been blamed on the law. This is despite the existence of these problems prior to the passage of No Child Left Behind.
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