Arguments against NCLB

Claims made in criticism of the Act:

• Students are measured through as single test once a year.
• The standardized testing under the NCLB act doesn’t include subjects such as science, history, foreign language and arts.
• Teachers and parents charge that NCLB encourages and rewards teaching children to score well on the test, rather than teaching with a primary goal of learning. As a result, teachers are pressured to teach a narrow set of test-taking skills and a test-limited range of knowledge.
• Since states set their own standards and write their own standardized NCLB tests, states can compensate for inadequate student performance by setting very low standards and making tests unusually easy.
• The Bush Administration has significantly underfunded NCLB at the state level, and yet, has required states to comply with all provisions of NCLB or risk losing federal funds.
• Because of the decrease in money, cuts have been made in subjects such as art and foreign language, as well as reducing school supplies, class field trips and books. 
• NCLB sets very high teacher qualifications by requiring new teachers to possess one (or often more) college degrees in specific subjects and to pass a series of proficiency tests. Existing teachers must also pass proficiency tests. These new requirements have caused major problems in obtaining qualified teachers in subjects (special education, science, math) and areas (rural, inner cities) where schools districts already have teacher shortages.
• Teachers especially object to the Bush 2007 proposal to allow districts to circumvent teacher contracts to transfer teachers to failing and poorly-performing schools.
• At its core, NCLB faults schools and curriculum for student failure, but critics claim that other factors are also to blame, including: class size, old and damaged school buildings, hunger and homelessness, and lack of health care.  

References: Website: United States Department of Education
Website: About.com: Pros and Cons of the No Child Left Behind Act