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Since the end of World War II, the United States has dominated the world politically, militarily, and economically. However, globalization has narrowed the gap between the United States, emerging markets, and developing nations. While the US is still the dominant force in world politics, it no longer goes unchallenged.
The United States recognizes education as a vital tool in maintaining competitiveness abroad and economic security at home. For this reason, we will look at both the domestic and international elements of US education policy.
No Child Left Behind
On January 8, 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law by President George W. Bush. NCLB was a major piece of legislation that dramatically altered specific elements of education in the United States, particularly the role of the federal government in education.
One of the main goals of No Child Left Behind is to address the growing achievement gap in the United States between underprivileged students typically attending lower achieving schools and students attending higher achieving schools. NCLB has several main focuses:
- Accountability of progress through annual testing and funding
- State report cards of school progress
- Teacher Qualifications
- Reading and Literacy Programs.
Despite passing the Senate and the House with overwhelming majorities, 87-10 and 381-44, respectively, NCLB has proved to be highly controversial. Many argue against both its motives and effectiveness as “some educators and policy makers have questioned the feasibility and fairness of its goals and time frames.”58 Certainly, questions have arisen as to whether the legislation has actually worked to narrow the achievement gap, a corner stone aim of NCLB.
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| Image found at: http://www.hoover.org/research/focusonissues/focus/11282221.html |
| The chart illustrates the conflicting viewpoints on NCLB. |
In 2007, the authors of an article in the journal Educational Research entitled “Gauging Growth: How to Judge No Child Left Behind” sought out to do just that. They measured test results by analyzing student performance, state data spanning from 1992-2006, and information from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The analysis found that the narrowing achievement gaps leading up to 2002 actually stopped after the passing of NCLB.59
Dr. Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley and one of the authors to “Gauging Growth” stated: “The slowing of achievement gains, even declines in reading, since 2002 suggests that state-led accountability efforts- well underway by the mid-1990s—packed more punch in raising student performance, compared with the flattening-out of scores during the “No Child” era.”60 The Obama administration has proposed a plan to revamp No Child Left Behind, citing the fact that each year, approximately 80,000 public schools inAmerica fail to meet the standards outlined by the law.61
US International Education Policy
The United States also views education as a measure of foreign policy. For this reason, the US State Department oversees the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The work of the Bureau is to “foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries to promote friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations, as mandated by the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchanges Act of 1961.”62 This mission is accomplished through initiatives such as the Fulbright Program; the International Visitor Leadership Program; youth, sports, and cultural programs; and study opportunity for foreign students.
Annually, the US State Department, in conjunction with the US Department of Education, hosts an International Education Week (IEW). This is one way in which the United States’ seeks to “promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.”63
At the 2008 IEW, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice spoke to the global role of education stating that “indeed educational institutions—primary and secondary schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities—have always played a key role in opening minds and creating global awareness, and have traditionally been the State Department’s strongest partners in shaping the citizen diplomat.” 64
The US recognizes education as a means of civil diplomacy in addition to the creation of 21st century employees. Programs such as IEW and others undertaken by the State Department illustrate the sophisticated coordination of the US to disseminate its culture through education, in addition to attract global scholars to its shores. All of this is as an effort to build and maintain a 21st century workforce and supremacy in the modern global economy.
58 http://www.edweek.org/rc/issues/no-child-left-behind/
59 Fuller, Bruce, et al. Guaging growth: how to judge no child left behind
61 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects /n/no_child_left_behind_act/index.html
62 http://exchanges.state.gov/about.html
64 http://www.iew.state.gov/2008/docs/secrice.pdf
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