No Child Gets Ahead - How No Child Left Behind Resembles Soviet Communism

            The No Child Left Behind Act has altered our Nation’s schools as Communism did the Russian economy.  Our federal government created a system where group achievement trumps personal needs.  Fear of failure has become the primary motivator for school managers and workers.  Both the names and aims of Communism and NCLB were inspirational, but their design flaws are also similar.

            Marx’s communist philosophy and NCLB both evolved to address glaring inequalities in resource distribution.  Before the NCLBA, children with disabilities, non-English speakers, and children heavily impacted by poverty and/or racism were under-served by our schools.  The difficulty and expense of educating such children overwhelmed teachers and administrators, who often gave up on them.  Like the poverty of nineteenth century Russian peasants, this entrenched disparity called for drastic change.  Our government developed the NCLBA with the good intention of narrowing the education gap between “haves” and “have-nots” in America.  I wish it was successful.

            Measuring the academic achievement gap on a national scale could be accomplished most easily through standardized testing, which became the dominant feature of the NCLBA.  As he signed the law in 2002, President Bush boasted that all American children would achieve the same standards on reading and math tests.  Like Soviet factories, schools that did not help all workers reach productivity goals would be labeled “failures,” and could be overhauled by government authorities.  Unfortunately, such penalties have forced teachers to focus almost exclusively on test score enhancement, with disastrous results for education.

            The NCLB edutopia spotlights Reading and Mathematics.  Confusing children with extensive Science, Social Studies, or Arts instruction is not encouraged, as these subjects are not tested.  Our government is leaving a generation largely ignorant about scientific data, rich lessons of history, and the arts.  Fortunately for our children, many teachers still cover untested material, but they swim upstream against a red tide of NCLB priorities.

            Each year in American testing factories, modern pupils spend many weeks preparing for the End of Grade (EOG) examinations.  Practice assessments are given under “testing conditions,” in which children as young as eight spend entire mornings quietly wiggling at their desks, ignoring repetitive instructions, and answering multiple choice questions.  Teachers and students are so exhausted by the anxiety and time involved, that little is taught during testing weeks.  EOG “pep rallies” remind one of a ‘groupthink’ scene from George Orwell’s 1984.  And once the EOG’s are over in May, many classrooms turn into movie theaters and day-care centers, as the teacher’s work is considered done for the year.  Standardized testing discourages comprehensive education. 

            Communism reordered Russia’s caste system, and NCLB has had negative consequences for high achievers in US schools.  The Soviets treated every worker alike, forcing potential doctors and engineers to break up dirt clods on communal farms.  Russia is still recovering from this waste of human potential.  Similarly, many advanced students in our public schools are not receiving an education to match their abilities.  Students who score high on standardized tests are re-drilled on the basic material, apparently aiming for perfection.  As one such student noted, “No Child Left Behind means no child gets ahead either.” 

            Increased production was demanded of Soviet factory and farm workers without higher wages.  Production decreased.  The NCLBA sets progressively higher test-score goals.  More schools “fail” each year.  Students at risk of being ‘left behind’ have received more attention since 2002, but still struggle on tests due to factors beyond teacher control.  A teacher once told me every school will eventually fail under the NCLBA, because it is impossible to equalize test scores without lowering standards completely.

            Like the Russian Revolution, the NCLBA revealed unjust inequalities, but created new problems with punitive measures.  Test-taking is not inherently rewarding.  Therefore, American uber-emphasis on test scores punishes students and teachers, dooming schools and our society to eventual failure. 

            Adult workers perform a great variety of tasks in order to thrive in this multifaceted world, supporting not only themselves but our communities.  Our young citizens need diverse learning experiences, not the narrow focus of standardized tests.  While no child should be ‘pushed behind,’ the NCLBA requires revision.  Every American student must be challenged to reach his or her individual potential and rewarded for doing so, if our public education system is to escape the fate of the Soviet Union.