The scary part of this story is that it happened even before NCLB was enacted. It happened even before Bush was elected. But it is what makes me angry about NCLB.
I was a smart kid all through school. I was always told by my teachers that I did not work up to my potential. My grades were not the greatest, and they certainly did not match my ability. I would forget to turn in my homework all the time, and when I did turn it in, there were a lot of really stupid mistakes in it.
Fast-forward to high school. I'm still having the same problems, but now I can't even keep up in some of my classes. I would go to my school counselors and tell them that I was having problems. Instead of asking me what kind of problems, or trying to find out what was wrong, they would reach for my file and pull out my standardized test scores. They were off the charts. I was always at least in the 95th percentile, usually higher. So they would pull those out and say, "You shouldn't be having any trouble... your standardized test scores are really high. You're just not trying hard enough." So, I struggled through high school, barely making Cs in a few subjects, getting to the point that I hated school and didn't care about the grades anymore.
So then I get to college. I got in on my ACT score, which wasn't off the charts, but was very high. I went through 4 years of college with the same problems. My GPA hovered around 2.5, usually below. In my fourth year of college, I finally had a professor that looked past the test scores. He saw the problems I was having in class, and took the time to make an appointment with me outside of class. He worked with me individually, and then asked if I had ever been tested for learning disabilities. I hadn't, so I started calling a few psychologists. The prices for the tests were going to be at least $500, which I did not have. So, my professor referred me to the university psychological services center, who did the test for $200 and let me make payments.
It turns out that I had learning disabilities all along. I have ADHD, a working memory deficit, and an auditory processing deficit. I have learned coping strategies to work with my disabilities and am getting minimal assistance through the accessability resources office on campus. I have managed to pull my GPA up to a 2.8, and it's still climbing. And I am starting to enjoy school again. I am having fun with learning.
The thing that worries me about NCLB is that it focuses on nothing but the standardized tests. I don't where I would be right now if it hadn't been for that one professor that looked past the test scores to the person I really am. We need to get rid of NCLB. We need to look at children for who they are and how they really learn rather than looking at them as a number; a simple test score.
I have alot more on this, which I will post at a later time, but I think this is long enough for now.