Active Learning Consultants, Richard Bernato Ed.D.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (NCLB)

General dissatisfaction with the state of our national education efforts has led to President George W. Bush's program for school improvement called No Child Left Behind, or NCLB.

NCLB has many requirements. Links below will steer the reader to these. NCLB, like it or not, is the federal government's program to assure accountability for children's achievement through a series of multi-grade testing. Students' performance on these standardized examinations provides a picture to educators, policy makers, and the public as to the extent to which youngsters have "met" these so-called standards.

An important aspect of this legislation requires that educators disaggregate the data of student performance on these examinations by numbers of sub-group categories; e.g. ethnic breakdown, socioeconomic status, special education students. It goes further by requiring that ALL sub-groups must meet the standards.

This is significant because the mean or average of the "whole" student population of a school or district might meet or exceed the expected set performance. However, the sub-groups, e.g. special education children, might not. NCLB requirements that ALL sub-groups meet the standards impose additional consequences on schools whose sub-groups have not.

Restructuring generally include 4 options:

Closing the school down permanently and dispersing the children to other schools:

Firing staff members, including administrators: closing the school:

Reformulating the “failing school” as a Charter school; or,

Rearranging the school's organization and structure in different configurations than in which it is presently organized.

In each of these rather significant options schools and districts are responsible for

Enacting the complex process of assessing all aspects of the school's performance, by assessing quantitative and qualitative data sources,

Identifying root causes at play,

Forming, enacting, and following up on strategic plans that emerge as a result of the processes.

Involving all stakeholders in the school community to participate in this process.

Since the process of its nature can NOT be unilateral, long-lasting and sustainable change must include High Involvement elements, Strategic Planning processes, and Systemic, School Improvement disciplines.

Active Learning Consultants can help guide your School Organization through the expectations and processes of meeting NCLB requirements.

Some relevant links: ed.gov, nclb.org, eweek.org, nysed.gov, lab.brown.edu

For more information, contact us at richber1@optonline.net