March 30, 2007 | Volume 4, Issue 1
Amending the No Child Left Behind Act for American Indian Students
Introduction
The No Child Left Behind Act laudably seeks to improve American students’ scholastic achievement. However, as it is currently written, the act will do just the opposite for American Indian students living on or near reservations. Because this is such a critical time for the Act as it is up for reauthorization, it is necessary to consider the unique features of American Indian schools that complicate the affect that NCLB has on them.
The achievement tests mandated by NCLB have sparked a trend toward narrower school curriculum so that schools now focus on reading, writing, and other basic test subjects at the expense of broader, yet equally important fields of study. This phenomenon adversely affects American Indian students because it reverses the educational benefits that they have enjoyed as the result of culturally based education policies. In response, the best course of action would be for policymakers to amend the act to allow states, in conjunction with tribal leadership, to develop and administer culturally appropriate tests to students who attend predominately American Indian schools.
Affects of NCLB on Curriculum
Two years ago, the Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University hosted eleven hearings on the effects of No Child Left Behind on American Indian schools and their students.1 These hearings were held all throughout the country in order to get a broad picture.
Major concerns voiced by parents, students, and school administrators regarding the effect of NCLB include2:
- Success on the standardized tests has been at the expense of Native American language and culture in the classroom
- A previous focus on culturally appropriate pedagogical methods that are effective for many Native American students has given way to standard approaches
- Students are losing interest and dropping out because the curriculum is too focused and not broad enough to motivate them
- A national standardized curriculum for all students threatens the return of assimilation by way of education
In the last national census, over four million Americans identified themselves as American Indian/Alaskan Native either alone or in combination with another designation. And, that number continues to grow. As a group, they are younger than the national average, so a higher percentage of American Indians and Alaskan Natives are in school and currently affected by NCLB.3 Thus, prior to reauthorizing of NCLB, it is important to look at its effects on this important demographic.
Culturally Based Curriculum
Culturally based curriculum became federal policy with the passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, giving tribal leadership more control over what would be taught in schools and how. Culturally based education is widely celebrated for eliminating the choice that American Indian students had to make in the past between their own culture and values and those being taught in their schools, making them more likely to stay in school.4 Moreover, culturally relevant methodologies and curriculum has been shown to increase school success. A 2001 study of 212 students on three different reservations showed a statistically significant connection between the students’ immersion in their native culture and their academic achievement.5 Other smaller studies have confirmed these same results.
Eliminating culturally based curriculum in favor of courses aimed solely at increasing scores on the standardized tests required by NCLB therefore creates a real possibility that we will see an opposite result of that which NCLB is intending to produce. By allowing states to recognize cultural differences among the students within its borders and creating tests that are culturally appropriate for American Indian students, that risk is reduced. While there is an understandable need for measuring students’ skills and ensuring their understanding of fundamental subjects, administering tests that are geared more toward the appropriate culture of the student will be the most beneficial. Doing so will allow schools to return to the culturally based methodologies and curriculum that have proven to be so important to students’ success, while still ensuring that students are learning the necessary skills that are essential to their success as adults.
Conclusion
The education of American Indian students has been a special case requiring the unique cooperation of tribal leadership and the federal government for decades. This is the case because American Indian communities have different characteristics and cultures than the rest of the country. What may work for most Americans might not work for them, and we are seeing an example of this with the No Child Left Behind Act. This unique situation has warranted creative and specialized policies in the past, and NCLB should be amended to acknowledge this fact. Assessing American Indian students using tribal and state created tests will improve the Act’s results while ensuring that we do not leave American Indian cultures behind in the process.
1 National American Indian Education Association. 2005. Preliminary Report on No Child Left Behind in Indian Country. http://www.niea.org/sa/uploads/policyissues/29.23.NIEANCLBreport_final2.pdf.
2 Ibid.
3 U.S. Census Bureau. 2006. We the People: American Indians and Alaskan Natives in the United States. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/censr-28.pdf.
4 Reyhner, Jon. 1992. “American Indians Out of School: A Review of School-Based Causes and Solutions.” Journal of American Indian Education 31(3).
5 Whitbeck, Les B., Dan Hoyt, Jerry Stubben, and Teresa La Fromboise. 2001. “Traditional Culture and Academic Success among American Indian Children in the Upper Midwest.” Journal of American Indian Education 40(2).