2018_Fa Divya, Jenna & Nick: No Child Left Behind - Boondoggle or Brilliant

Colgate University Public Economics Course

This episode is about No Child Left Behind: how it impacted learning, as well as how it succeeded and how it fell short. In it, we interview with two professionals in the field of education. Both Professor Song and Mrs. Spiess discussed the huge role that standardized testing played in the outcomes of NCLB, and how the act ultimately made learning a lot more generalized and more focused on passing the standardized tests, rather than being individualized. There were obviously areas where NCLB succeeded, and Mrs. Spiess explained that there was actually very real financial success associated with NCLB based on the funding received. However, NCLB ultimately fell short in that it failed to provide students with the strong, customizable learning experience that they might have received otherwise because there was so much focus on standardized testing.