Education Reform

Math and science are the backbone of the education system in the United States today, as STEM fields come to the forefront of the global marketplace. However, if one examines the test scores of U.S. students, it becomes clear that students in this country are not taking sufficient math and science to make the grade. As the U.S. continues to fall in math and science rankings on a global scale, many educators and business leaders are leading the charge for more rigorous math and science requirements in high schools. Will more math and science really make the U.S. more competitive?

U.S. Lagging Other Industrial Countries

Last year, William Bennett, the former U.S. Education Secretary, reported at CNN that the United States scored 23^rd in math and 31^st in science among the 65 top industrial countries in the world. The Wall Street Journal also issued a report, citing a warning in a report from the United States National Academies that stated the U.S. was losing ground in both math and science skills. Even as the U.S. has made some improvements in math and science test scores over the past decade, the country still lags behind many other countries across the globe in these key areas.

In addition to losing a global competitiveness, the U.S. may be cheating itself out of future math and science advancements. The CNN article also reported that only 26 percent of the high school seniors in this country score

‘Tis the season for standardized testing at public schools across the country, as school districts gear up for statewide testing that provides a glimpse into how and what students are learning. The season is not typically met with happy anticipation by most students and teachers; in fact, the mood may better be described as anxiety and even trepidation. In a few areas of the nation, students and teachers are taking matters into their own hands, organizing boycotts of tests that some say are a waste of valuable instruction hours and inaccurate gauge of how well schools are teaching and students are learning.

Portland Opts Out

With the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) examinations looming in Portland, some students have decided that enough is enough when it comes to the statewide testing process. Members of the Portland Student Union have launched an opt-out campaign to protest the examinations with a district-wide boycott by students. According to U.S. News and World Report, members of the student union are encouraging other students to boycott the examinations, by opting out on test days.

This video reports the situation with Portland students protesting standardized tests.

The Washington Post reports that ideas of the boycott began to circulate when two different Portland Student Unions got together and realized they shared a common concern involving the state examinations. The students involved in

School reform at the federal level has been highly touted as the way to turn around failing schools and ensure a high-quality education for all students in the U.S. However, opponents of that reform are claiming that the process currently used to improve failing schools is actually having the opposite effect – discriminating against the very students it is claiming to help. Is school reform doing more harm than good? The answer depends on who you ask.

The Advent of School Reform

In 2010, President Obama championed school reform by revamping the School Improvement Grant program. The move increased the annual budget of the program from $125 million to $535 million. The administration also pumped a one-time amount of $3.5 billion in 2010 allocated directly to districts that were willing to undertake one of four jumpstart models toward serious education reform.

The four jumpstart models include:

• Turning a failing school over to a charter operator
• Instituting a new principal and learning strategy
• Replacing at least half the school’s administrative staff
• Closing the school completely

Schools labeled as improvement schools may receive up to $2 million in additional funding annually for up to three years. A number of districts have risen to the challenge, identifying schools most in need of reform and establishing plans to turn those schools around. Unfortunately, the results of those efforts have been mixed thus far.

This TEDTalk explains who the real experts in school reform are.

As deadlines for No Child Left Behind program began to press on schools nationwide, many states have realized that they would simply be unable to make the standards set by the federal legislation in the time frame allotted. As a result, President Barack Obama has granted waivers to 10 states that requested them, allowing them to free themselves from the sweeping requirements of NCLB. In exchange, these states have pledged to continue their work on academic improvement, both in terms of student performance and evaluation.

Why Waivers Were Necessary

No Child Left Behind was the highly touted and bipartisan legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush. The purpose of the law was to ensure every student in the country was proficient in math and reading by 2014, including traditionally underserved students like those from low-income areas, minorities, students with disabilities and kids still learning the English language.

However, many have complained that the federal system of accountability did not allow states sufficient flexibility in developing systems that worked for their kids, and that it encouraged teachers to simply “teach to the test.” Many states are also showing signs already that they will be unable to meet the federal guidelines in a timely fashion, which has prompted the request for waivers in many states. President Obama recently called No Child Left Behind “an admirable but flawed effort that hurt students instead of helping them,” at CBS News.

By providing waivers

The Obama administration had plans to overhaul the nation's education system when they took office, but budget battles, health care, and other priorities took center stage. Now, it appears that education will quickly be moving to the forefront as the current year's test scores from around the country show that the large majority of schools in the United States are missing their mark and headed for failure. With the No Child Left Behind Act created by the Bush administration now headed to the chopping block, the quality of education in this country is set to get another look by Congress this spring.

What is the No Child Left Behind Act?

According to a report at the Washington Post, the No Child Left Behind Act was a signature educational initiative that originated with President George W. Bush in 2001. The goal of the legislation, which received bipartisan support at the time of signing, was to require schools to bring 100 percent of their students to proficiency in math and reading by the year 2014. Proficiency would be evaluated through annual exams given to students in third through eighth grade and one additional test during high school.

This 2001 video shows President Bush promoting his "No Child Left Behind" act.

Reforming the No Child Left Behind Act has been a focus of the Obama administration because the current