In theory, I don't like the concept of NCLB because I don't like the amount of time, effort and money spent creating and grading the tests and preparing students for the tests. That time, effort and money could obviously be better spent educating the students in more innovative ways. I love the fact that certain states and certain school districts have 'opted out' of NCLB and stated that they don't need that federal funding since it costs more to deal with the law than they receive in funding.
I've been curious about why more districts don't make this decision and I don't really 'buy into' the idea that the districts need the funding because I would hypothesize that it still costs those districts more to generate and administer the tests than they end up receiving.
But then, the Professor made a great point today that I had not considered. People buy houses in school districts with good ratings. These ratings are significantly based on the students' test results. So, some districts that don't need the funding and that might want to opt out, can't because then their schools wouldn't show as 'top' in the ratings and the towns would be less desirable, thus decreasing property values and then the schools WOULD need the federal funding. What a ridiculous cycle!
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The whole idea of no child left behind has its ups and downs. I understand that these districts do have options, but these are not tangible to urban districts that need every penny they can get. Yes, the numbers for real estate is important, but even more important if the fact that they need money.
Even though it cost more to administer the "study for the test" process, the districts get the money and then worry about making ends meet. This is how most people in urban areas live their day to day. Pay check to pay check, by the time the next pay check comes they have already "sent" it. For example, they know that they will get 100 dollars next week, well from that they need to pay 25 to electric, 50 for gas and 25 for whatever comes up. This is a vague example, but it fits as a comparison on how schools might manage their money.
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