Patty Quinn Benn

Curriculum Evaluation

Dr. Dugan

1 July 2009

ESEA

“In recognition of the special education needs of low-income families and the impact that concentrations of low-income families have on the ability of local educational agencies to support adequate educational programs, the Congress hereby declares it to be the policy of the United States to provide financial assistance (Section 201, Elementary and Secondary School Act, 1965).”

The history of American formalized education dates back to the 1640’s with the English colonies. At that time, the Puritans stressed the three “R’s” and strong work ethic. Since then, education has evolved and changed to meet the needs of the current societies and time periods. During the presidency of Harry Truman, leaders began to discuss the need for “competitive technology” with the advent of the Cold War (www.answers.com). Talk of educational improvements continued with the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations as well, and became imperative when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik in 1957. To assure that Americans would remain competitive, President Kennedy proposed a number of educational solutions in which all children received a fair and equal education regardless of religion, race, or class. However, it was not until after his assassination that Kennedy’s ideas came to fruition through President Johnson. Reviewing and revising President Kennedy’s initial ideas about America’s educational system, President Johnson proposed an agenda to help fight what he called the War on Poverty (www.answers.com).

In 1965, under the Johnson administration, Congress derived and passed a bill called the Elementary Secondary Education Act or ESEA. The purpose of said bill was to “meet the needs of educationally deprived children, especially through compensatory programs for the poor” (Schugurensky). Children from low-income homes needed and required more educational services than that of children from more wealthy homes. The goal of ESEA was to “offer new hope to tens of thousands of youngsters who need attention before they ever enroll in first grade, [as well as] help five million children of poor families overcome their greatest barrier to progress: poverty” (Schugurensky). For the first time in American, formalized education, ESEA created a partnership among federal, state, and local governments. It addressed the ever-growing poverty and its effects on poor students and schools (www.ohea.org).

ESEA was broken down into six goals, each of which were described in a separate “title”: (following information from Encyclopedia of American Education, Third Edition)

• Title I – provides funds to local educational agencies, including schools, social service agencies and other organizations for such programs as remedial reading, compensatory math and other special programs.
• Title II – provides funds for school libraries and for textbooks in public and private schools.
• Title III - provides grants and funds for innovative educational programs.
• Title IV – provides funds for educational research and training.
• Title V – provides funds to state educational agencies.
• Title VI – provides funds for ESEA administration.

Over the past forty-four years since the induction of the ESEA, it has undergone a number of changes and rebirths. Since 1965, it has evolved in three phases (following information obtained from the Encyclopedia of American Education, Third Edition) :

· 1965-1980 – ESEA focused on Title I funding and whether it was “truly targeted funding or whether it was cleverly disguised as a general aid to education (today over 90% of school receive Title I funding)” (www.ohea.org).

o 1968 – the act was amended to include bilingual education and include assistance for handicapped and migrant children.

o 1970 – altered the law regarding Title I funds to require state and local governments to match federal funds received.

o 1972 – Congress amended act to ban gender discrimination.

o 1978 – addition of basic skills programs to the act.

· 1980-1990 – ESEA had no real significant increases in funding. During this time, A Nation at Risk (report), was released and education became a forefront and important issue to voters.

· 1990-Present – Today, ESEA is dominated by the federal government’s desire to see tangible results in student achievement and success within education. This has resulted in state-driven tests.

o 1993 – Improving America’s Schools Act (federal aid was linked to developing standards for each state to assure AYP). During this time, the Clinton administration passed Goals 2000 as well.

o 2001 – Under the guidance of President George W. Bush, Congress passed the ten billion dollar No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Under NCLB, ESEA imposed testing requirements for all states in which progress from year-to-year was the demand and failure to demonstrate such would result in loss of federal subsidies.

As with any policy or act, ESEA has its supporters as well as it opponents. Over the years, many parents, teachers, and administrators challenged the basis and purpose of ESEA. In 1966, the Coleman Report was published and argued that school improvements had very little impact on student achievement and success. With the introduction and enforcement of NCLB, such sentiments were echoed and continued to be so. Many feel that “NCLB fails to address the needs of the whole child and reduces the guiding purpose of education from the development of effective and contributing citizens to an unending quest for higher scores on tests that cannot assess what we value most in a democratic society – things like critical and creative thinking, problem solving, effective and persuasive communication, cooperation, perseverance, caring, respect, and appreciate for diversity” (McKim, 298). While this may be the feelings of many, as of today, NCLB is not going away. While President Obama has yet to make it clear what he plans to do with NCLB, for now, it is here to stay until we hear otherwise.

Regardless of proponent or opponent, ESEA revolutionized the federal government’s role within American education. Before 1965, state and local governments had sole control over their educational systems. Today, ESEA has a strong hand in public school systems across the U.S. The debate will continue as to whether because of ESEA, the federal government is overly involved in regulating school district affairs as well as the fact of whether ESEA is truly raising student performance. However, due to the economic state of our country, whether supporter or not, thousands of poverty-stricken schools/districts (and non) seek and accept ESEA funds (www.answers.com).

Works Cited

"Elementary and Secondary Education Act." Answers.com. 28 Jun 2009

.

"Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, The: From the War on Poverty to No

Child Left Behind." OEA: Ohio Education Association. 10 Aug 2007. OEA. 28

Jun 2009 .

McKim, Brent. "Point of View: The Road Less Traveled." Phi Delta Kappan. December

2007. Web.28 Jun 2009.

Schugurensky, Daniel. "Selected Moments of the 20th Century." History of Education.

26 May 2002. Dept. of Adult Education. Community Development and

Counseling Psychology. 28 Jun 2009 .

Unger, Harlow. “Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).” Encyclopedia of

American Education, Third Edition. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2007.

American History Online, Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com.

For More Information:

The education.gov website is full of information on ESEA. Although quite dense, if you can sift through it, you will find it helpful in your understanding of the creation and evolution of the act that changed American public schools forever.

www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/edpicks.jhtml?src= In