In the No Child left Behind Act, or NCLB(an English foundation), some schools are only funded for core subjects. As a result, schools may only focus on achieving acceptable skill levels in reading, writing, and math. All of the other programs that the government is not requiring (like gifted programs) are being cut by many schools because there is not enough money. Also, since the NCLB doesn't have a set standard for assessment, states can choose their own tests as long as everyone in the state takes the same one. Some states are even lowering their standards so it looks like their students are improving because the NCLB gives bonuses to schools that improve their scores on the assessments. Bob Thorton, a writer, once wrote, "Instead of emphasizing strengthening the opportunities open to the able, we have tended increasingly to shift into a state of victims in which the emphasis is on raising the people at the bottom. Now, no social progress has ever come from the bottom up. It's always come from the top small number pulling up the society as a whole and raising it." This proves that our society has always been pulled up by the people on top, not pushed forward by people on the bottom.
Second, I also think that gifted students should be able to learn things that challenge them. Going back to the NCLB, the government has absolutely no plan for students that ace the assessments. They treat someone who is able to pass the assessments the same as someone who annihilates them and finishes them with ease. They expect that gifted students will always excel but this is wrong. Many gifted students lose the giftedness because they are not educated properly. Also, if gifted students are not challenged they will become bored and they may accept being normal which might ruin their chances for a good career. Gifted programs are usually cut first because they have the least amount of funding.
