Democratic Oligarchy: No Child Left Untested

In his blog entry entitled No Child Left Untested, Erick Hauk makes an informed argument against the No Child left Behind act enacted in 2001. Mr. Hauk begins his post by explaining that the act his heavily reliant and structured around standardized testing, with serial testing of students as they progress through their education. The author then goes on to argue that this core tenet of measuring performance by standardized testing is degrading the quality of America’s education system.
Mr. Hauk explains that it is not only the student’s performance that is tested, it is the school’s as well, with funding directly tied to test scores. One local example given by the author being the closing of Johnston High School after “multiple years of low performance scores.” The author’s post is full of these detrimental effects of the No Child Left Behind act. With results like a decrease in funding for low performing schools, an increase in high-school drop out rates and elimination of programs such as art and music, the author’s argument appears to be sound.
No Child Left Untested was a well-written, and researched post and while it would have been more complete with his sources listed, the author made a reasoned and effective argument.