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Brenda Sanchez
Ali. M. Meghdadi
English 39C/Section 33374
May 26, 2014
The Solution is at the Beginning
Abstract
The constant problem that seems to be ignored is the question whether Mexican-Americans and
Mexican immigrants are assimilating into the United States and the issues that come along.
This composition states the problem that the Mexican generation faces after migrating to the
United States. However it also proposes a solution, involving a policy that could better the
problems that are encountered daily by the Mexicans. The policy was proposed by George W.
Bush and is known as the No Child Left Behind Act, a reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act. The analysis of the proposal is explained and states how it is able to
better the problems that are face by Mexican-Americans. Through graphical and statistical
evidence the solution will be supported and portray the success it can create if it continues to be
enforced.

115, 864 Mexican immigrants came to the United States in 2003. 3,100,000, Mexican
immigrants currently have legal status. 2,400,000, Mexican immigrants were granted U.S.
citizenship in 2003. These numbers speak for themselves. Day after day Mexicans migrate to the
United States in search of better jobs, new opportunities, freedom and a better tomorrow.
However, these dreams go unrealized majority of the time, besides the discouraging realization
that jobs do not pay well, Mexican-Americans face plenty of cultural obstacles that are extremely
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hard to deal with. The melting pot metaphor that is commonly used for Mexican-American
immigrant assimilation fails to expose all the countless experiences that they encounter in the
United States that does not necessarily follow under the melting pot. In contrast, Mexican-
Americans live in a ring of fire. The only way to survive is to stay near the middle of the ring,
and even those who survive are still injured by the fire. Everyone believes that America is a
melting pot in which the immigrants assimilate into the American mainstream. Although some
may fight it, all immigrant groups, including Mexicans assimilate to certain extent. The concept
of assimilation has changed, Milton Gordon an American sociologist, noted for devising a theory
on the Seven Stages of Assimilation, proposed the definition of assimilation as a linear
progression or process through which immigrants discard Old World traits and adopt
American ones (Gordon 1964). The number of immigrants from Mexico is on the rise as
shown in Figure 1. Mexicans have not been able to adapt and face cultural issues including
customs, gender roles and expectations. The path to take in order to facilitate the dreams and
goals of Mexican-Americans should focus on the early education of the children of Mexican
immigrant families.
Figure 1. Number of Mexican Born in the United States: 1960 to 2010
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Figure 1 shows the 11.7 million Mexican born, being 55% of the 21.1 million Latin
Americans, made up for the largest immigrant group from Latin America.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau's 1960-2000 decennial censuses, 2010 ACS.



It Is A Start
Let us begin with the children. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is an act
of the United States Congress that is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, which included the Governments aid program for disadvantage students. The
Elementary and Secondary Education was passed in 1965 but has been reauthorized every five
years and emphasized equal access to educations and makes high standards and accountability
(Westfield). The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 proposed by George W. Bush is an act to
close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice so that no child is left
behind (ESEA). The NCLB claims one point of the bill is the increased accountability and
giving yearly-standardized tests that determines whether the school lives up to its expectations.
The act requires that schools base their teachings and programs on scientifically based research.
It also ensures that all the teachers have a bachelors degree and be fully certified. This act has
many advantages that correlate with the problem of Mexican-American assimilation. The NCLB
act focuses on elementary schools and give the elementary students the right start they need. If a
Mexican child is addressed at a young age and is lead into a path of education, success and tools
necessary to strive, the child will have more opportunities while growing up. Having more
opportunities open allows him/her to get a good job and have an easier time assimilating into the
United States. According to The Department of Education, the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) results, released in 2005 showed improved student achievement in
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reading and math. Reading and math scores for black and Hispanic nine-year-olds reached an
all-time high(No Child Left Behind Act). The improvement of reading and math scores lead to
the idea that if students at such a young age are directed in a good direction it is more likely that
they will assimilate with the United States and avoid obstacles later on in life.

How It Works
The NCLB Act works because it conducts tests that show the progress or the stance of the
student in a certain subject. The standards-based assessment is an ideal way to measure whether
the teachers are teaching and the students are learning. Without having common standards, it is
hard to determine and compare a school from another school. This act shows that the teachers are
doing their jobs and are focusing on the students. The focus on the students is what is required to
better the Mexican-Americans and the tests that are given are proof of whether they are doing
their job or not. The assessment-centered Figure 2 Reading Improvement
accountability is the best way of
comparing the students performances
throughout all the different educational
systems. It is not only a good way to
determine if the
teachers and students are doing what is
required of them but it also encourages
more studying amongst the students while
in school is in session. In an international
study that focused on the effects of
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dropping and reintroducing standardized tests in twenty-nine industrialized countries, it showed
that academic standards declined, students studied less and curriculums became incoherent.
Having this act leads to consistency throughout the entire year and shows awareness that the
students are not only being set on a good path but are nurtured to continue the path throughout
their education. Figure 2 represents the increase that Hispanics are having based on the NCLB
act, proving that Hispanics, including Mexicans are receiving positive results. Figure 3 goes into
more depth about the improvement of Hispanics. In correlation to the assessment-based
accountability are the high-stakes consequences, meaning that high-stakes testing has the
unintended consequences of improving development. It is a smart idea to encourage high-states
consequences because most of the time, students will only read a book if they are going to be
tested on it in a final exam. Being aware of this sort of mind set that students have came to
develop, the teachers need to be one step ahead of them. Having this test, will constantly force
students to keep on trying and do good in school leaving them with a small chance to do bad.
Figure 3 Florida Hispanic Students Outperform 15 Statewide Averages
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The image above shows that Hispanic 4
th
graders received a better reading score in 2007 than the
average scored for students of all races in the fifteen other states.
Source: U.S, Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data
Explorer, at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/noepdata (January 5, 2009).



Opposing Voices
Although there has been many statistics that show that the No Child Left Behind Act has
had a positive impact on students some still believe otherwise. Figure 4 represents the progress
that the NCLB act has had and is predicted to have throughout the year.

Figure 4 No Child Left Behind Targets

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There are some that believe that this act does not help the students since all students are held to
the same achievement standard regardless of their ability, socioeconomic status and native
language. In actuality, this area is where it encourages students to reach a certain level of
understanding, a level that is equal amongst all students, disregarding
race and personal background; No one is excluded or preferred when
making the tests. When expectations are equal for all students, it is each
individuals responsibility to do what is required to fulfill them even it
might require extra help. The equal expectations promote a peak at to
what the future expects, since no job will accept someone that has a
lower education just because their first language was not English. This
idea pushes Mexican-Americans to try their best and learn the
requirements in order to have a bright future. In addition, it is helping
the students assimilate because they are being required to know the same
information as everyone else in the United States.
At times people believe that the testing within the one size fits all policy is not fair
because there is an inherent cultural disparity since each culture is naturally gifted with certain
skills(Borade). To begin, the certain skills that are present in each individual is more of an
advantage, a plus, not something that should be measured within the testing. Also having
different cultural skills is a good thing but when it relates with school, the skills that need to be
measured are skills that will be used throughout life. Such skills are in reading/language arts,
mathematics and science these are basic necessities that everyone will interact with throughout
their lives. Having other skills would benefit one and make someone stand out in a college
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application or resume but it does not mean that it is unfair for them to be tested as equals with
their peers.


Education and Its Influence
Approaching the betterment of the problem would begin with the children. When
children transition into elementary school, they are making a huge leap from the private world of
their families to the public world (Crosnoe 28). The high and increasing number of Mexican-
American children that are being born, or are born in the United States, represents an opportunity
to create an assimilated pathway. Starting with the children would be successful because they are
young and have not been exposed to many problems, they do not worry about getting a job,
living situations and judgments of others. They are also in a threshold of a societal
institution(Crosnoe 2). The educational system is one of the greatest powers of influence. The
paths that these children take can change their life decisions drastically. There are three major
steps that need to be followed to assure that this idea will help. The first step would be improving
the Mexican American and Mexican immigrant population by improving the education of
Mexican American and Mexican immigrant children. The second step would be based on these
improvements; the social policy of the No Child Left Behind needs to be enforced on the large
and the small scale. The third step would be reinforcing and shining the light to this policy,
giving out the knowledge that everyone needs to be aware of; the essentials and downfalls of the
children in the education system.
Childrens education is the future. Success in school, one of the most important
indications of adapting to society, depends not only on the cognitive ability and motivation of
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individual children, but also on the economic and social resources available to them through their
families(Zhou 79). In the U.S. economy, there are levels of jobs that begin at the top with,
high-paying stable jobs in a profession, then going to low paying insecure jobs at the bottom and
a mixture of both in between. The high-paying stable secure jobs require college and specific
degrees; these degrees can be attained through a strong powerful education. Bettering the
educational system will influence the lives of individual Mexican children and influence the
basic social and economic status. Education will successfully fulfill the Mexican immigrant
parents dreams for their children to have a high social status with a high income, even if it
means that they will not and it might take a while to see the change.
Roscigno states that Students whose parents have at least a high school
diploma or equivalent exhibit a 2.1 point advantage in mathematics
achievement, on average, relative to their counterparts in families where
neither parent has attained a high school education(Roscigno1043). The
children already have difficulty because of their parents so they need a
particular system to help them. This system is found in the No Child Left
Behind Policy, it encourages and sustains the students knowledge and
level of education throughout the years based on tests.


Critical Points
Critical intervention points need to be addressed in children. A critical intervention point
is a specific time in life where influences will have long-term consequences. Starting elementary
school is an intervention point and it is an easier place to begin because childrens mind is
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similar to a sponge, in the essence that it is ready to absorb all the information that is given to
them. Two sociologists of education, Karl Alexander and Doris Entwisle, studied a theoretical
model of the transition into and through elementary school. The transition model is based on
research on elementary schools from diverse backgrounds in Maryland. The model was designed
to approach the differences in personal, experimental and social factor and set teacher
expectations from that. Based on the transition study, it is believed that Mexican-American
children enter school with different circumstances than their peers, in general being child
development. If the educational system strictly follows the NCLB act and encourages full
participation, it would lead to easier assimilation as they grow up.

Conclusion









Source: "Anonymous ART of Revolution: We May Have Different Religions Different
Languages Different Colored Skin but We All Belong to One Human Race." Anonymous
ART of Revolution: We May Have Different Religions Different Languages Different
Colored Skin but We All Belong to One Human Race. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

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Children from Mexican immigrant families are forced to play catch-up from the get-
go(Crosnoe 92). Second-generation Mexican Americans face difficulties as soon as they enter
elementary school. They are influenced through their parents culture and it is difficult for them
to adapt to the United States culture. As they grow up they are already having problems
assimilating into the United States culture and ways of life. In order to prevent this problem
there needs to be a policy that is based on knowledge about the transition to elementary school.
This is the No Child Left Behind Act that carries the purpose of helping Mexican-American
students. It tests the students to see how they are doing and from the results the students, parents,
teachers and staff of the school know where they need help in and offer the help. It also test
teachers and makes sure that they are satisfying their requirements and giving their students the
best. The test also encourages students year long to study hard and not loose focus since they
know that the test will give them a grade and represent their progress. Having a strong education
is the foundation to culturally assimilating into the United States and this act provides that. This
will ease the educational inequalities that eventually lead to long-term consequences for the
social economy of the Mexican population in the United States. The policy does not necessarily
need to be created and passed immediately, even without a policy, the educational system can be
taken closer looked at and bettered to help Mexican-Americans conform in the United States.





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Works Cited

"Anonymous ART of Revolution: We May Have Different Religions Different Languages
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Revolution: We May Have Different Religions Different Languages Different Colored
Skin but We All Belong to One Human Race. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

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"No Child Left Behind Act." Westfield Educational Consultants. Web. 19 May 2014.
U.S. Census Bureau's 1960-2000 decennial censuses, 2010 ACS.

"Reforms to No Child Left Behind Are Positive." Daily Trojan. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.


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