No Child Left Behind

My son is in the third grade this year. This is the first year he has to take the standardized tests that go along with the No Child Left Behind Act. I am wondering where this is going to leave him.

He has struggled a bit in school. For the most part he has done well but he has problems with reading comprehension. This has affected other subjects because he doesn’t always understand the instructions on tests. At home we help him understand the instructions on homework, but he is on his own with the tests and other assignments in school.

I have read that if a child has a lot of problems on the standardized tests he will pretty much be on his own and suffer the consequences. Teachers are more likely to focus their attention on children who have more of a chance to pass the test. Especially since school funding and the future of the school is dependent on annual progress on the number of students who do pass the test.

Parent teacher conferences are coming up. So, I will soon have the opportunity to talk to his teacher and see if they have taken any practice tests yet. I just hope that if he doesn’t do well he does not get discouraged.