Instructional time on on the decline for subjects like science, social studies and art

A recent poll on public attitudes toward public schools shows that Americans believe the current No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is flawed and want Congress to legislate the types of changes that will make it a useful tool for improving student achievement.

NCLB’s current emphasis on grading schools through standardized tests drew pointed criticism in the survey, which was conducted by Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup and released in late August. The poll is available at www.pdkintl.org.

Poll respondents said they were concerned about the effect of testing on the total education of children. More than half said that NCLB’s emphasis on English and math has reduced the amount of instructional time for science, health, social studies and the arts—and 93 percent of those who saw this narrowing of the curriculum said they were very or somewhat concerned about the trend.

Only 16 percent of those surveyed said that the best way to measure school performance was through the percentage of students passing state-mandated tests; 85 percent of respondents said the best way to gauge performance was to measure students’ progress.

"High-quality, accountable public schools require a well-rounded curriculum based on high standards, with an effective assessment system aligned with that curriculum," says AFT president Edward J. McElroy. "The public gets it; it’s now up to lawmakers to get NCLB right."