No Child Left Behind

No Child Left Behind Act and Special Education Learners

April 2007

Outline

I . Introduction

Thesis statement - The NCLB act adequately meets the needs of special education learners

II . of the No Child Left Behind Act

A . Date passed

B . Overview of provision of the act

i . role of government

ii . role of individual states

iii . role of educators

iv . role of students

C . Funding under the NCLB

i . government contribution

ii . state contribution

III . Benefits of the NCLB Act

A . Central focus place

on special needs learners

i . NCLB relationship to Individuals with disabilities act (IDEA

ii . More attention paid to academic performance

B . More accountability

i . a . accountability of state , school districts , school administrators , teachers , parents

i . How accountability is determined

a . test based instruments

b . adequate yearly progress

C . Flexibility in the classroom

i . flexibility of teaching strategies

ii . flexibility of assessment procedures

D . More qualified staff - training provided to qualify teachers

E . An appropriate curriculum

i . focus on academic achievement

a . subjects offered

b . Individual Education Programs (IEP

- role of IEP

- accommodations provided under the IEP

IV . Limitations of the NCLB

Increased risk of special needs students dropping out

i . Too stringent academic demands

Inadequate teachers

Implications of the requirement that teachers are highly qualified

teachers are untrained and thus won 't be rehired

teachers opt into other professions with less stringent demands

Implications on teachers for not making adequate yearly progress (AYP

Curriculum too academically focused

academic rather than functional skills are emphasized for special education learners

Unfair assessment procedures

assessment instruments not adequately suited for learners with disabilities

student failure on assessment reflects failure on the part of the teacher

unequal treatment of students

similar expectations for learning disabled and other learners

Unethical practices

accountability forces school administrators to avoid registering low performing students

Conclusion and Recommendations

NCLB meets most of the needs of special needs learners

few adjustments may need to be made

long-term evaluation of NCLB needs to be conducted

further research needs to be pursued

The United States educational system has been undergoing several structural and policy changes in the last few years . The No Child Left Behind (NCLB ) act represents the most recent thrust towards improvements in education . Under this act there is a special focus placed on various categories of learners that have traditionally been disadvantaged in the education system . Ethnic and racial minorities , the economically disadvantaged , students with limited English proficiency and those with disabilities are been especially targeted (Shaul 7 .Within the last category the needs of special education learners are addressed and provisions are made to improve the quality of education delivered to these learners . With the new requirements laid down in the act parents teachers and administrators will realize that the NCLB act adequately meets the needs of special education learners

The No Child Left Behind Act was passed on January 8 , 2002 . This purpose of this act is to revise existing legislation which governed the operation of the U .S . education system...