Re: "Why People Should Support Bill HB866 and Waive NCLB!"

Today, I am commenting on an editorial written on Jamilia's Blog, titled "Why People Should Support Bill HB866 and Waive NCLB." Jamilia chose to discuss HB866, an education reform bill passed in June that lowers the amount of standardized tests a child has to take in his grade-school career. Ideally, if a student receives satisfactory scores on a standardized test, that student won't have to take a standardized test the following year. HB866 waives the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2002 by George Bush. NCLB required schools to administer standardized tests every year and the students must meet "adequate yearly progress". If the students didn't do so, steps were taken to try and improve the school. While Jamilia clearly vouches for HB866, I do not think it's a good idea.

I do agree with Jamilia that the No Child Left Behind Act needed to be done with. The NCLB caused instructors to "teach to the test", which means teachers were only focusing on subjects they knew to be on the test and not on all the subjects that students need to know in life. For example, I volunteered as a teacher's assistant last semester, teaching 5th graders during an afterschool program. The students could tell me that 5 times 5 was 25, but could not tell me a number that was a factor of 25. They didn't know what a factor was. The students could also tell me that one-half was equal to three-sixths, but they couldn't tell me what a numerator or a denominator was. When I tried to teach them those things (and a better method for finding equivalent fractions), the teacher told me not to worry about it as long as they were getting the answers correct. That is not okay.

Now, I don't know much about the small, intricate details of HB866, but I believe that its main goal of lowering the amount of standardized tests is more hurtful than helpful. Sure, I complained about taking my standardized tests each year (which used to be called TAAS, and soon changed to TAKS), especially because I always excelled at them. I thought the questions were dumb and way too simple and wondered why I had to take them every year if they were that easy. However, taking those tests just proved that I knew more material than the minimum requirement, and that was a really good thing. But exempting students from STAAR tests for knowing 9x3 is 27, when they can't tell me why one-half is the same as 50%, is not helping them. It's better to know too much than just enough.

What is the solution then if I just put down both the HB866 and the NCLB? Well, I think the NCLB was a good idea with a bad execution. It seems we should just improve the NCLB and find a way to avoid "teaching to the test." Jamilia believes it's better to improve upon HB866 and be rid of NCLB. In the end, I'm glad that Jamilia and I both agree that neither option as it stands will solve the education problems going on right now. Hopefully, legislature will find a better solution than NCLB and HB866.