The No Child Left Behind Act - 1693 Words

If there is one thing that all American’s can agree on it is that the education provided for our youth serves as the foundation for the continuation and prosperity of our nation’s future. On the smaller scale, the students that live and learn here in the state of California will become our congressmen, doctors, policemen; the future of our great state. The adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was necessary for improving the education policies in place for the youth in California. For one, it replaced the failing academic system, the No Child Left Behind Act. Second, the CCSS drives students to build deeper conceptual understandings of course material and foster their critical-thinking and analytical skills. Next, the CCSS†¦show more content†¦As a result, school districts were forced to â€Å"dumb down† their standards to ensure students’ success on paper to avoid such labels (Jost, 2010). In addition, teachers would essentially â₠¬Å"teach to the test,† only covering topics their students would be tested on during their annual standardized tests (Jost, 2010). This is a huge problem that America’s youth had encountered. They were being stripped of their chance to be curious and thirsty for knowledge. Rather, they were forced to play the â€Å"grade game† and simply memorize the information they need to receive an A grade. Consequently, NCLB made only slight improvements to students reading and math scores according to the â€Å"nation’s report card, in 2009 (Jost, 2010). Hence, the failing of NCLB has left us with no option than to revise America’s current education system and the CCSS is the best method to do that. Fortunately, the CCSS holds students to a higher standard than those set by NCLB. Students are now turning away from mere memorization and regurgitation of information given to them by their teachers. Instead, they are taught â€Å"standard detail skills and basic concepts that students should master in each grade in mathematics and in the broad realm of English language arts and literacy† (Clemmitt, 2014). The CCSS were created by â€Å"The National Governors Association and the Council of