Comparison of Elementary and Secondary Education Act, NCLB, Race to Research Paper

Comparison of Elementary and Secondary Education Act, NCLB, Race to the Top - Research Paper Example For years, Congress has attempted to reform it with little results. Upon the election of President Obama, efforts to reform this act is reinvigorated. The Obama government released the â€Å"Blueprint for Reform† last March, 2010. The Blueprint for Reform is a proposal for the re-authorization of the ESEA/NCLB, and is based on the successes of the â€Å"Race to the Top† (RTT) (Morrell, 2010, p.146). RTT is a plan for the increase of test-based accountability, centralization, standardization of education. The changes from the ESEA of 1965 up to the RTT and Blueprint for Reform of 2010 created the modification of the education system from â€Å"district-designed curriculum and testing under Johnson, to state-driven standards and testing under Clinton and Bush, to national curriculum standards and high stakes tests under Obama† (Onosko, n.d., p.1). Specifics ESEA ESEA's enactment in 1965 demonstrated the federal government's push for the improvement of public educat ion (Standerfer, 2006, p.26). Ever since then, the government played an increasingly significant role toward education. Through the Department of Education founded in 1980, the government is able to set standards for the quality of educators, provide funds for school libraries in low-income schools, etc (Hustedt & Barnett, 2011, p.168). As the federal funds assisting K-12 spending increased significantly over the years, the requirement for local and state schools reporting also increased, yet, is prohibits the creation of a national curriculum. It states that by providing equal access to quality education, achievement gaps among students are lessened. It mandates that funds be provided for the ESEA, NCLB, and RTT 3 promotion of parental involvement, support of educational programs and materials, and professional development. Every five years, the act has been re-authorized (Standerfer, 2006, pp.26-7). One of the most recent re-authorizations is the NCLB. NCLB NCLB mandates that ever y state should have a challenging achievement standards and curriculum particularly for Math, Science, and English. This means that states should have a benchmark of the achievement level and learning expectations for a specific grade level. However, despite mandating a state-driven curriculum, NCLB does not impose any requirement on the academic standards and curriculum created by each state. Because of this, it created a great disparity among the states' quality standards (Strunk & McEachin, 2011, pp.879-81). RTT or Blueprint for Reform The Blueprint for Reform is based on the RTT, which is the Department of Education's competition to promote reforms to the quality standards set by each state. It was announced in July, 2009, and awarded schools for meeting the requirements of nationwide standards on performance. Because of this, several critics argue that the effect is a weakened public education as it promotes charter schools. Furthermore, several are doubtful of the reliability of high-stakes tests. Despite the criticism, it spawned the idea for the Blueprint of Reform where each state is required to develop standards in Math and English that would promote college readiness. States are given 2 options in developing such standards. One is to work with the public education system to ensure that, despite the states keeping their own quality standards, they are meeting the requirements set for college readiness.

Mod 3 Pre-trial and trial procedures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mod 3 Pre-trial and trial procedures - Assignment Example In December 7 1993, Colin Ferguson from Jamaica started shooting passengers on a commuter train at random killing six and injuries 16 people; after he stopped to reload, the passengers restrained him. When appearing in court, he self-represented himself but the eyewitnesses and the prosecutor managed to convince the magistrate to sentence him to more than 200 jail terms in New York Attica Prison. The critics of this case argue that he was not in his sane mind to stand trial hence the court was wrong to convict and sentence him (People v Ferguson248, N.Y App 1998). In the Poucell v Alabama, 287 U.S case, fourteen African youths were unfairly charged by the court for reportedly raping two white women, the case which was popularly known as the ‘Scottsboro case’ where within two weeks of arrest, they were convicted, tried and sentenced to death; the Supreme Court reversed this conviction. In Indiana a defendant was found competent to self-represent but the trial court did not allow him to, even though he was competent. An attorney was appointed to represent him, but he was sentenced, following a Foreta, a similar case wherein it was held by the Supreme Court that the accused was competent to self-represent. The disposal of petty offenses; these cases guarantee that either a fine or a short jail term is imposed. Cases such as common traffic laws and breaking of local regulations fall into this category. The Preliminary hearing is where the magistrate hears the state’s case and determines if it can appear before the grand jury or not. The functions of grand jury include: preventing baseless, discriminatory and overzealous charges by examining hearings and evidence presented before it. The grand jury also has power to order the witnesses to appear before it, issue immunity or hold the individuals in contempt. The jurisdiction and venue: before a court hears a case and rules, it