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Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo County, CA November 7, 2006 Election
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"No Child Left Behind" Act

By John E. Hinden

Candidate for Board Member; Santa Maria-Bonita School District

This information is provided by the candidate
Effective Teaching Should Not Be Judged On Results From Standarized Tests
I believe the "No Child Left Behind" act(NCLB) is a failure and an attempt by the federal government to take away local control of our schools. The issues facing local schools (and schools within California)are not the same as in other parts of our country. I do not believe you can "standarize" the education process on a nationwide basis. Public schools in the East do not face the budgetary constraints we have here in California due to the implementation of Proposition 13 many years ago. The money from property taxes is just not the same. Also, schools in other parts of our country are not faced with the number of non-English speaking students we have here in this District. It is not fair to the students, teachers, or this District, to be held to a national standard on "standarized" tests when so many of our students can not understand the language. All parents want their children to be taught by "highly-qualified" teachers. However, "No Child Left Behind" does nothing to ensure this happens. Again, a "standarized" test is used which takes nothing into account how a teacher relates to students, or how effective "teaching" is done in the classroom. While the law's emphasis in on no "child" left behind, it makes little room for the teachers who are now left behind. The Board needs to speak out against the inequality of this law and take appropriate action to ensure our students are treated fairly. Low scores on standardized tests should not be the only criteria used to evaluate our students, teachers, or District.

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