Didn't the US have No Child Left Behind
Yes, NCLB is mentioned in the Ken Robinson video linked
upthread. There are several sources to read about NCLB online; EdWeek provides a high level summary
here. NCLB was a furtherance of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) originally passed in 1965. Each re-authorization of ESEA spends more while results achieved are questionable, at best.
The same complaints were made about that.
While concerns were raised regarding NCLB (2001), the concerns today are of a much larger magnitude. The concerns ushered in by common core (2010) include:
-
excessive high-stakes standardized testing and teaching to the test,
- extensive
data collection on
students and teachers,
- evaluating teachers based on closing achievement and excellence gaps in their classrooms,
- rating/ranking schools based on closing achievement gaps and excellence gaps.
Glad to hear that, as raising awareness is key. Only by having a well-informed populace can people cast an informed vote and/or effect change to legislation and policy. Ability to articulate one's observations, gather evidence, understand and follow advocacy strategies, cite experts, and create impact statements (by sharing anecdotes) are effective tools for bringing about positive change.
