No Child Left Behind, or NCLB took effect in 2001.  I have no doubt in my mind that the lawmakers/authors, who worked in bipartisan fashion, believed that what they were doing was in the best interest of all children, especially those children struggling academically, by providing funding to test annually to determine which schools/teachers were doing their jobs and which were not.  It was great in theory I suppose, a way to make adults accountable for the future success of their students.

One of the unforeseen consequences of this of course, was that states and districts soon became aware that the consequences of students NOT succeeding, based on tests that are anything but a reliable indicator of success, resulted in principals/teachers being removed from schools, schools being closed or schools being taken over.  The fear aroused in these educators resulted in many things, from motiving teachers through “merit pay” (instead of teaching for the love of teaching) for those whose students were “achieving”, to actually cheating for their students on tests.

In a conversation today with colleagues at lunch, one of them stated that Freshmen in college were born the year this took effect.  Based on the theories, hopes and dreams of these lawmakers of the time, this would be the class to demonstrate the effectiveness of NCLB.  After all, NCLB required that schools and educators rely on scientifically  based research for programs and teaching methods.  It required that teachers be evaluated as well.  It required regular testing to make sure students were achieving.  It made sure that all students were receiving equal opportunities. It makes perfect sense.  However, the one thing they left out was relying on the professionalism and input of great teachers.

Fear led teachers and districts to do the “stuff in and regurgitate” method of teaching and testing.  After all, if you test often enough and before the child has a chance to forget it, test results can be skewed in your favor.  Teachers knew this was wrong for kids, but what else were you supposed to do? Schools made a big deal of testing, with everything from pep rallies before testing began, to rewards after they were finished, to sending info home to parents about how important eating right and sleeping before testing was   (like it’s not important EVERY day).  Students started exhibiting test anxiety, only concerned about whether something was right or wrong – after all, their whole lives, their future in college all depended on doing well on these tests.  In elementary school. Where Kindergartners were crying because they were stressed and tired.  After all, if you don’t test well you’re dumb, right?  Even in Kindergarten.

So, now what is the result of these practices on students?  Well, based on observations and conversations with educators at all levels, we’ve done something beyond harmful.  We’ve not taught students how to think for themselves and understand that mistakes are one of the ways we learn best.  We’ve taught them that assessments are the end all, and that learning because learning is fun is obsolete.  We’ve taught them that reading is serious business and they can’t just read whatever interests them, that it must have a purpose.  We’ve taught them to be afraid of failure and to avoid it at all costs, and for those kids who can’t handle it emotionally, we’ve trained kids to give up and act out.

But surely they just miraculously grow out of this, right?  Well, no they don’t.  In a conversation with my colleagues, even at the collegiate level, students are afraid to take risks or to be creative because they’re afraid of being wrong or failing.  They want everything to contain lists or checkboxes, so they can just mark things off of a list instead of thinking for themselves.  They’re constantly asking for affirmation, did they do ok, did they do it the right way.  And it’s not just once in a while, it’s constantly.  They’re expected to make connections with very diverse subjects, something they’ve never had to do before because all they were tested on was reading and math.  They’ve read ABOUT science and social studies as part of reading assignments, but not necessarily as a singular subject because it wasn’t always tested.

And what about those students now beginning their teaching careers?  All they know is this method of teaching because it’s how they were taught.  They don’t know what it was like before NCLB, that teachers were allowed to discern for themselves how their students/classes were doing and make decisions based on their knowledge of teaching.  Teaching was an art form, not something any robot could do.  Parents and those outside the teaching profession now realize something is wrong with schools and are resorting to charter, private and on-line schools, attributing the problem to everything EXCEPT that teachers used to be trusted to know what was best for kids and now they’re not.

The question now is, with ESSA, or the “Every Child Succeeds Act”, have we learned from the past or are we going to stick with the status quo?  What are we going to do with these children who are now adults, who are not prepared to make it in the real world where mistakes will be made and affirmation for every movement will not be given?  A world where connections between subject matters are important and expected and not everything can be answered by asking Google?  We left the children behind.  Now are we going to leave the adults behind too?