What Effect is the NCLB Act Having on the Use of Classtime??
The Council for Basic Education recently released a study on how
the No Child Left Behind Act is influencing instruction time and professional development in key subject areas. The study, Academic
Atrophy: The Condition of the Liberal Arts in
According to the study, three-quarters of the principals
reported increases in instructional times for reading, writing and mathematics. Time devoted to professional development in
these areas experienced a similar increase.
Despite these increases, other subject areas have not fared as well, especially in high-minority
school districts. Foreign language instruction experienced decreases in instructional times as reported by the principals.
In low-minority schools 9% of the principals surveyed reported a decrease and 11% reported an increase in foreign language instruction
time. High-minority schools reported a 23% decline in instructional time with only 9% reporting an increase. Additionally, 29%
of principals in high-minority school districts anticipated future decreases; half of the 29% expected the decrease to be large.
The
Council for Basic Education suggests four steps that educators and policy makers should take to ensure that a liberal arts education
has a permanent role in education curriculum:
1. Integrate the liberal arts into strategies for improving mathematics and reading
skills.
2. Better prepare teachers to integrate the liberal arts into mathematics and reading instruction.
3. Incorporate standards
and accountability systems into all liberal arts courses.
4. Maintain high goals for excellence in the liberal arts, and track progress
towards these goals.
For detailed information on the comprehensive findings, please visit Council for Basic Education website at http://www.c-b-e.org/ to
download a copy of the study.
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