-
Brown v. Board of Education
This court ruling helped shaped public education as it is today by ruling that having separate but equal schools, based on race, was not equal. It acknowledged that students forced to attend different schools because of their race results in them feeling inferior to others. This court ruling lead to the desegregation of schools which has resulted in the diversity which can now be seen in some public schools. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This federal law made it so these children with disabilities have the right to be educated in public schools. Over the years this law has been added to and edited to further expand the rights of students with disabilities, including the right to be educated in the least restrictive environment. This results in more students with disabilities getting their education in the general education setting and teachers needing to make sure that what they teach is accessible to these students. -
A Nation at Risk
In today's schools there are several standards based test that occur throughout the year. This article made it so policy makers began to see the importance of standardized testing as well making schools accountable for how their students performed on these tests. This has resulted in new policies about standardized testing, causing teachers to have to teach so that their students do well on the test, instead of teaching what they think is best for the students. -
No Child Left Behind
Presently schools try to make sure that all students get educated despite the differences that exist between different students. This law made it so that schools were held accountable for the education of the different student subgroups by separating the test data for all these groups and requiring that all groups pass the states standards. After this law was passed teachers needed to ensure that their teaching strategies were working for all their different students. -
Race to the Top
Race to the Top is a policy that provides grants to states that can show their schools have statewide standards, student achievement included in teacher evaluations, and funding even if it’s a school in a high poverty or high minority area. This encouraged states to have educational reforms to meet all the criteria, which results in teachers having more pressure and incentive to teach the content that will be on student achievement tests.
