As I sat listening to my superintendent discuss the implications of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for our school district, I found myself on the one hand thinking that the powers that be are on the right track, they won’t continue to settle for the mediocrity that passes for student achievement in this day and age. I thought if schools are held accountable for insisting that students do more than meet the learning standards in any given subject, that the importance of an education in the United States would again be validated. But then I thought of the impact on the teachers if schools don’t start holding parents accountable and students accountable for part of the responsibility in getting this accomplished.

A colleague of mine brought up an important point. If parents can afford to send their kids to private school and keep them out of public school, right off the bat you are not starting with a level playing field. The kids whose parents make education a top priority have already pulled them out of the public schools. These students may not receive all the services that a public school affords them but this is made up for by a family that values a sound education and in many cases, is supportive of a Judeo-Christian morality which is the foundation for civic responsibility, as intended by the framers of our constitution.

I could go on and on about how difficult it will be to accomplish the mission of NCLB within the constraints of the average public school. Students who have learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, and economic disadvantage will all be expected to meet and exceed the learning standards. Pockets of students will not be able to perform and then the schools will have to make changes including (no surprise) getting rid of teachers. Before this proposed scenario plays out in a fashion that will ultimately lead to many schools failing the initiative, I’d like to make a radical suggestion. I’d like to see schools redesigned to offer modular curriculums.

If schools were redesigned in this way, students would not pass or fail at the end of a proposed amount of time. They could not be socially promoted. Rather, they would move up through each grade as they pass the tests required at the end of each unit completed. Teachers would not have to teach to the average or low to average kid. The same curriculum could be mastered at different rates of speed. A certain number of modules would have to be passed in order to move up to the next grade level in that curricular area. Students could be learning at different rates. Nobody need be penalized for a slower rate of learning. Students who choose not to work will eventually find their peers have moved on and decide to work harder or they will eventually leave school completing an insufficient number of modules. In this scenario, they will have to privately complete any higher modules. This economic consequence might be enough incentive for parents to sit with their children and help them with their homework.

School districts would be redesigned. More specialized courses could be offered for students who learn at an accelerated rate. Students would be learning beside peers that are at the same learning level. Students who pass through modules will be given more privileges and the responsibilities that go along with them. A degree would only be awarded when all of the required material is sufficiently mastered. A potential employer or university would know that the modular curriculum is the same in any circumstance.

Instead of putting the burden of student achievement entirely on the teachers, there needs to be a collective responsibility for the education of today’s youth. It’s unrealistic to think that NCLB will achieve its objective within the current constraints of our public school systems. It is a noble endeavor but perhaps not well enough thought out.

Nancy Salvato is a middle school teacher in Illinois and an independent contractor for Prism Educational Consulting. She is the Educational Liaison to IL Sen. Ray Soden and she works with national and local organizations furthering the cause of Civic Education. She is a columnist for American Daily, The Common Voice, GOP-USA, OpinionEditorials and The New Media Journal.us. Her writing has been recognized by the US Secretary of Education. She has been published in The Washington Times, The Washington Dispatch, Iconoclast, Free Republic Network & Townhall.com., as well as other nationally and internationally published media outlets.