Final answer:
An educational concern about the No Child Left Behind legislation is the pressure of standardized testing, which led to teaching to the test and potentially neglected broader learning goals. This had implications for all students, including those with disabilities, and sparked debates about the best approach to education.
Step-by-step explanation:
Educational Concerns of No Child Left Behind Legislation
One of the educational concerns regarding the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation is Standardized testing pressure. This pressure arises from the requirement of schools receiving federal funds to administer standardized tests in reading and math to measure student performance. Schools that performed poorly on these tests faced the label of being 'in need of improvement' and, in the case of continued poor performance, risked curriculum changes, staff replacement, or even closure.
The funding tie-in of NCLB encouraged 'teaching to the test', where educational curricula focused primarily on preparing students to pass standardized tests, potentially at the cost of a more comprehensive educational experience. This phenomenon has sparked debate between the traditional approach of imparting knowledge for students to absorb and the modern student-centered approach aimed at fostering problem-solving abilities and learning skills crucial for lifelong learning.
NCLB included students with disabilities in its testing mandates, pushing for these students to work towards the same standards and take the same tests as their peers, albeit with necessary accommodations. Though test performance for these students improved, there was an increase in dropouts and some evidence suggested less willingness for schools to welcome students with disabilities, in aim of boosting average scores.