Las Vegas High School Principal Dr. Patrice Johnson says that Las Vegas High School “believes that every child can learn, given the time and support.” This belief is now the law. Although it was passed in 2001, President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act has only recently started showing major affects within the schools, and recently stirring up controversy with its numerous faults.

The new schedule at LVHS this year includes four-minute-longer days on Monday through Thursday and a shorter (by 20 minutes) day on Friday. During this extra time on Friday, teachers go to "collaboration" to discuss what they are teaching. The idea is that if students need to change teachers during the year, they will be learning the same things; therefore, they won’t get “left behind” in their new classes.

Guidance period was added to replace the Sustained Silent Reading of the past to allow students more time at school to do homework, to study or to receive extra help from teachers and peer mentors. Learning labs were added as a place where students could go for help during guidance period. Also more after-school classes are being made available for students.

It sounds like a good thing. The fault of the No Child Left Behind Act is in its execution and standards.

“[No Child Left Behind] was not written by educators, only by legislators,” Johnson says. “Some of what they are asking will be hard to meet.”

This all-or-nothing opinion is one of the major problems many people are discovering. If a school fails to meet just one of the 36 categories, the school is put on the “watch list.” The National Association of Secondary School Principals recognized Becker Middle School in 2002 as one of six exemplary middle schools in the United States. Yet, Becker MS appeared on the watch list because the Hispanic population failed to meet the requirements in math, the special education students did not test well enough in English or math, and students receiving free or reduced lunches did not make adequate progress in math or English.

Likewise, Green Valley High School, named this year as one of Newsweek magazine’s top 739 high schools in the country, is on the watch list because its special education students did not demonstrate enough progress on math testing. If schools fail to meet their adequate yearly progresses for too long, they will be placed on the “inadequate list.” If found to be inadequate, they risk losing federal funding and parents of students have the option of enrolling their child into a school that is adequate.

“There is a lot to [the act]” teacher Randy Steen says. “Most teachers don’t understand it completely either.”

The confusion about what exactly NCLB means for students, administrators, parents and teachers is something the Bush administration has looked at and is trying to fix. From what typical high school students do understand about NCLB, they are finding major faults with it, and the biggest problem is the racial subgroups.

In a letter printed in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Clark County School District Board of School Trustees President Shelia Moulton and Superintendent Carlos Garcia wrote that NCLB is aiming to provide “the best possible education” for all students “regardless of ethnicity, ability, fluency in English or socioeconomic status.”

“Why do these subgroups matter?” questions Las Vegas sophomore Krystal Chong. “It only fuels the generalization of students.” A student is a student, regardless of whether or not they happen to be Hispanic or Hawaiian and regardless of how they pay for their school lunches.

If male students do better statistically on tests than female students, should the people behind the NCLB Act give more attention to female students? Maybe right-handed students are scoring better on the math proficiency tests than left-handed students. Should schools suddenly start paying more attention to providing left-handed school supplies in schools? Perhaps blondes are not as proficient as brunettes in English classes? Many high school students are asking where the subgroups begin and where they end. Does being Hispanic or Asian Pacific Islander change your ability to learn? Does your socioeconomic status? These are questions many wish to have answered.

Trying to keep the individual subgroups of students afloat is only going to be detrimental for those students who are already succeeding in school. NCLB puts schools under pressure to get and stay off of the watch list. It is entirely rational that schools will focus and dedicate more time to the students in groups that are performing at a lower level than other groups. Is this necessarily a good thing? Not if it comes at the expense of others.

“You can’t sacrifice the kids who are already achieving,” Steen points out.

It is a wonderful idea that the government is acknowledging the importance of an education. It is already difficult in most places to find a decent, well-paying, full-time job without at least a high school diploma or GED equivalent. For many jobs these days, a college degree is required.

However, we live in Sin City. In this 24-hour town, it is not impossible to make enough money to live comfortably by getting a job working in a casino. People reason that this is why our city (and state) high school dropout rate is higher than most. There are plenty of teenage students, with (in their opinion) good jobs, who are sitting around waiting until they are able to drop out and work full time. There are other students who simply do not care about school. Despite whether or not people believe that is wrong or right, it is a decision that each person makes. No law, no act and no bill can ever be passed to change that fact. Yet, it seems to many that the NCLB Act disagrees.

Education starts before any kindergartener walks nervously into any classroom. A good family environment is the cornerstone of a good education. Parents need to be behind their children 100 percent. Government can never outweigh the importance of parents in regards to school.

“If the parents already left the child behind, we’ve already lost,” Steen says. “There is only so much teachers can do.”

Between the confusion surrounding what the act means, unrealistic standards and the potentially long-term problems that the act is sure to create, the No Child Left Behind Act should be … well … left behind.

-Return to December 2003 Issue-