Report: No Child Left Behind leaves Native Americans behind

The so-called "No Child Left Behind" act isn't helping Native American children. Instead, it's forcing assimilation into white, middle class culture, says a report from the National Indian Education Association.

The NIEA held 11 hearings nationwide in the past year, including two in Wisconsin (June 2004 and July 2005), on NCLB and Indian education to gather input for recommendations on strengthening the law for Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students and their communities.

Educators, parents and tribal leaders told the NIEA there are many fundamental problems with the federally mandated testing regulations.

NCLB (2001) is the latest revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was enacted in 1965 to provide guidance and funds to K-12 schools.

Cultural differences

Speakers at the hearings said NCLB is failing Native children and communities because it doesn't fit the unique situations in their communities - especially those in rural areas.

There are three tribal school districts in Wisconsin -- Lac Courte Oreilles, near Hayward; Menominee, near Shawano; and Oneida, near Green Bay.

Mandated changes have not included the Native American voice, the report says. NCLB devalues individual student progress and only values year-to-year school results on standardized tests, which is a Western concept, too rigid for Native American communities.

"The model of NCLB was created far away from Indian reservations and where Indian children live," a parent said at a Green Bay meeting. "Our children see and order their world differently, and as a result, demonstrate their knowledge in deepening and unique ways."

Language and arts

Some Native schools have had what NCLB considers success in standardized test scores, but it's at the expense and diminishment of Native language and culture, the report says.

One parent testified at the Green Bay meeting that the law has created a divide with Native parents: "I have been most disappointed by the lack of respect for Native values and communication styles."

A teacher testified she had to cut cultural and language programs to make time to achieve "Adequate Yearly Progress," as spelled out by NCLB. "That's totally wrong. The schools are places to learn who you are, where you come from, and all that good stuff. No Child Left Behind has facilitated a back-door standardized curriculum which amounts to teaching to test. As a result, there is a backlash in Indian Country which amounts to an aggressive, forced assimilation into white middle class culture."

To comply with NCLB, Native schools have had to cut educational aspects important to tribal history and traditions. Music, art, social studies and languages are totally ignored, the report says.

"As we feared, the law's unintended negative consequences have led to the diminishment of Native languages and cultures," said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association. "As a result, our nation's Native American children are being left behind."

Unfunded mandates

In the four years since NCLB was enacted, the shortfall between what Congress promised and what has been provided is $27 billion, and it continues to grow. Congress has not finished preparing the Fiscal Year 2006 education budget, but both House and Senate versions are expected to cut NCLB funding by $750 million to $800 million.

Funding problems affect Title VII formula grants, which focus on the language and cultural needs of American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. NCLB has shifted the use of Title VII to focus on remedial programs supported by Title 1, the report says.

"The threat that's over the horizon is that we must be very careful not to make Title VII look like Title I, because once we do that, there is no Title VII," a parent at a Washington, D.C., meeting said.

In Oklahoma City, one of the major support programs for Indian Education was in Title VII. "When NCLB came in, and Title VII had to meet some of those mandates, we weren't allowed to continue working in a cultural way. We consider it very important that our children maintain their culture, their traditions, their language. You can't separate those."

NEA and NIEA have joined a broad-based coalition with 58 other national groups in a joint statement calling on Congress for changes in the law.

"From the beginning, we have been saying this law needs to be fixed and funded," Weaver said. "The law has imposed many major requirements on states and school districts, but federal funding to pay for these requirements has not matched the mandates."

Social issues

Under NCLB, schools and districts are to be held accountable. However, speakers at the listening sessions said the law actually leaves Native American children feeling as though they are to blame when their districts don't meet standards, which can lead to higher drop-out rates.

NCLB sends the message that if children work harder, they will succeed - it doesn't recognize system failures.

"The report documents that American Indian children are internalizing the system's failures as their own personal failures," Weaver said.

Teachers also feel a sense of blame when a school does not succeed, which leads to higher turnover rates, the report says. This is especially harmful in Native districts, which already have higher turnover rates.

Social issues, such as children who are raised in dysfunctional homes, are not recognized under NCLB, the report says.

"When children come from homes with parents on drugs, or they have to take care of siblings, it's like, 'Why do I have to take a test? What's the use?' They're not going to do their best. They don't see the value," a teacher testified in Green Bay.

Sense of future

There is no sense of future for tribal nations under NCLB, the report says. Natives believe education is a fundamental aspect of tribal sovereignty.

Native schools already have a standards systems committed to accountability, high standards and rigorous education. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's standards show that cultural identity and rigorous educational standards are compatible and complimentary, the report says.

"Tribal sovereignty and our children's cultural identity become undermined unless tribes are directly involved in all efforts to develop policy, set standards, guide curriculum and lead the development of culturally appropriate pedagogy," an educator testified in Green Bay. "We need more meetings set in Indian Country to allow Indian education leaders to talk about frustrations and most of all, the roadblocks."

Read the NIEA's full report:

Read the NEA's report

Posted October 13, 2005