Who is Being Left Behind?
Poster Number
5
Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
Passed in 2001, George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” Act established that schools would be allocated federal funds according to their student body’s performance on standardized tests.What have the effects of this performance driven system of federal funding been? In an attempt to shed light on this pivotal inquiry, I recently submersed myself within two dissimilar public schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District: Genevieve Didion and Charles M. Goethe. My examination of newly instituted teaching techniques, survey of student attitudes, and review of standardized testing scores, have allowed me to identify some of the striking impacts public school funding allocation policies have had upon Sacramento’s public schools.Are the elevated expectations we are setting for our children truly motivating them to succeed, or are they simply advancing what we believe to be their inevitable educational demise? Who truly benefits from performance based funding allocation? In theory, performance driven funding allocation should work to raise the standard of education in these neighborhoods by motivating students and teachers to strive for academic excellence. Does this theory hold true?Although much research has been conducted on the effects of unequal public school funding in major metropolitan cities, relatively little attention has been paid to ethnically and financially diverse suburbs which are in abundance within California. By forging relationships with students and teachers and by carefully examining standardized test scores, I believe that I have effectively deciphered a link between school funding and academic performance. My paper, in turn, addresses the questions outlined above and brings light to the validity of performance driven public school funding allocation.
Location
Callison Hall
Start Date
6-5-2006 10:00 AM
End Date
6-5-2006 12:00 PM
Who is Being Left Behind?
Callison Hall
Passed in 2001, George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” Act established that schools would be allocated federal funds according to their student body’s performance on standardized tests.What have the effects of this performance driven system of federal funding been? In an attempt to shed light on this pivotal inquiry, I recently submersed myself within two dissimilar public schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District: Genevieve Didion and Charles M. Goethe. My examination of newly instituted teaching techniques, survey of student attitudes, and review of standardized testing scores, have allowed me to identify some of the striking impacts public school funding allocation policies have had upon Sacramento’s public schools.Are the elevated expectations we are setting for our children truly motivating them to succeed, or are they simply advancing what we believe to be their inevitable educational demise? Who truly benefits from performance based funding allocation? In theory, performance driven funding allocation should work to raise the standard of education in these neighborhoods by motivating students and teachers to strive for academic excellence. Does this theory hold true?Although much research has been conducted on the effects of unequal public school funding in major metropolitan cities, relatively little attention has been paid to ethnically and financially diverse suburbs which are in abundance within California. By forging relationships with students and teachers and by carefully examining standardized test scores, I believe that I have effectively deciphered a link between school funding and academic performance. My paper, in turn, addresses the questions outlined above and brings light to the validity of performance driven public school funding allocation.