The Flaws of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top

Garrod, M. (2012, April 11). Educational Reforms: The Flaws of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top.

Mathematica’s Policy Research shows that merit pay does not work, in their study, 16 experimental schools operating under Chicago’s Merit Pay program were compared to 200 similar schools with similar student demographics, teacher retention rates, accountability status, and achievement levels. Mathematic Policy Research found no statistically significant differences in student scores or teacher-retention rates among those schools. Vanderbilt University conducted a similar experiment and their results were similar to Mathematica’s. The video then shares news flashes of cheating scandals in Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston and Detroit. In Atlanta, 178 principals and teachers were involved in a cheating scandal under pressure to meet requirements on standardized tests set forth by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. Over the past five years, a growing amount of school resources are being allocated to meet math and reading scores in effort to help schools meet adequate yearly progress (AYP). Mr. Garrod included a clip of his classroom in a humorous portrayal of the impact of NCLB on classroom curriculum and pedagogy. The video also asks the question: what if politicians were subjected to the same treatment as educators? What would that look like?