As one of the hallmark pieces of education legislation passed by President George W. Bush, The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 aimed to reform the American education system by giving schools standard and measurable goals that 100 percent of all students needed to meet. But, by promising to leave no child behind, did the act set its goals too far? Yesterday the White House announced that it was going to remove a key part of NCLB by offering waivers to states who would seek to exempt themselves from the law’s high bar.
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, who is currently the research professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, talks about the downfalls of the law.
For an on the ground look at the NCLB’s effect in the classroom we speak with Mark Wilson, principal of Morgan County High School in Madison, GA.