No
Child Left Behind downsizes curriculum extras
WASHINGTON (U-Wire) - Curriculums that do
not fall under the testing requirements
of the No Child Left Behind stand as the
next victims to be cut in an effort to fund
the program, which emphasizes increasing
learning achievement and equity through
testing children on reading and math.
The
program, which has been one of the main
points of President Bush's domestic agenda,
seeks to eliminate the disparity of learning
achievement of students of varying backgrounds.
The program emphasizes basic math and reading
comprehension and skills, and is not completely
funded under Title I, which it is a component
of.
"NCLB
is largely funded through Title I, which
targets dollars to high poverty students.
This is by far the largest segment of funding
with in NCLB at $12.4 billion for FY 04.In
FY 05, President Bush called for a $1 billion
increase for Title I, but overall that just
equates to $448 million increase for NCLB
when you take into account his cuts of programs,"
said Mary Kusler, vice president of Committee
for Education Funding.
To
this end, programs stand to be eliminated
in an effort to fund the program.
"With
the exception of Arts in education, which
the president proposed to eliminate, most
of the other programs being eliminated have
nothing to do with art and music. Instead
these programs focus on student services,
etc. such as school counseling and dropout
prevention. NCLB is just one aspect of what
schools should be doing. In an ideal world,
their reach would be wider," said Kusler.
The
implications of these program cuts on students
are hard to determine.
"It
is difficult to give concrete data on the
impact of cuts to music and art will be.
Regardless there is a concern that the over
focus on math and reading in NCLB will force
school districts to narrow their curriculums
as they determine what are the best ways
to spend their precious dollars. There is
a limited pot of available funding for unending
needs," said Kusler.
"Focusing
on the basics will help them learn in other
areas, but we can not take away focus from
the importance of a well balanced child,"
said Kusler.
Those
who work within educational enrichment,
like the Breakthrough Collaborative, who
works with low-income middle school students
agree.
"A
lot is being lost along the way and a lot
is being asked for of other educational
services that focus beyond math and literacy
and test taking," said the Breakthrough
Collaborative's Laura Pochop.
"We
see [NCLB] through the kids. They have less
hands on project type learning, spend less
time on problem solving skills, and we have
to fill with things that they are not able
to access at school," said Pochop.
Though there is criticism of NCLB, Pochop
noted the positives of the program.
"Its
recognition is really good. It doesn't measure
on the average, it looks at all kinds to
ensure all kids are encouraged to achieve,"
she said.
|
