"No Child Left Behind" Doesn't Work

On the face it looks like a good plan - using supplemental federal funds to fund supplemental education. But it isn’t that simple. Like most questionable activities, the real purpose is found when you follow the money.

Each student enrolled in SES tutoring is given about 20 hours of instruction. The $2,000 range is a normal per student payment for tutoring services. (Hours and funding differ by state and district.) Tutors are usually paid less than $20 per hour. The worst companies provide little in the way of educational materials and supplies, instead deferring these costs to contract tutors. This leaves the company with nearly $1,600 per student - that’s 80% - for administrative costs and profits! As anyone can clearly see, this is not very cost effective if education is truly the goal. In practice, SES actually takes education dollars and redistributes it to the wealthy owners of tutoring companies using education as the cover story for the duplicitous transactions. And SES is only one part of NCLB.

Tutoring magnates aren’t the only ones with their fingers in the pie, or even the biggest outstretched hand. School districts receive additional funding to pay for expenses incurred in implementing the federal programs. This helps to fund their vast bureaucratic machines. Most school districts have even added additional staff positions to manage these programs. At the same time, districts help skew the numbers by approving tutoring in areas of study in which the student does well, while providing no tutoring for subjects the student is failing. After all, millions of dollars will be spent. School districts that can show their students are failing standardized tests will receive the funding. Districts have no incentive to actually educate. More failures bring more dollars.

Federal programs and huge state and district management staffs create layers of bureaucracy that squeeze money out of actual educational funding. Those bureaucracies also create a barrier between teachers and their students. Instead of focusing on educating each student, teachers must be constantly vigilant against offending the myriad of powers controlling their every word and action. Reports and precisely worded lesson plans for superiors take precious time away from preparing for the next day’s educational tasks.

I have the utmost respect for teachers. Most are very dedicated in their mission of helping children prepare for the tasks of adulthood. Many also hope to instill good values and a love of learning. I used to call teachers ‘educators’ as a sign of my respect for the profession. Lately, I’ve begun thinking that maybe our replacement of the word ‘teach’ with ‘educate’ may be at the root of the problem. Education requires many levels of management. Teaching happens one on one. Even when material is being presented to a larger group each student is learning individually.

If our government truly cared about children learning they would give their K-12 educational funds directly to schools. Not states or districts – schools. There would be only two requirements. The form to show compliance would simply ask: How much was spent on additional teaching supplies/equipment? How many additional teachers have been hired?