The Mind & Meal Project

Every Thursday afternoon, I knew exactly what was coming. I would sit at the kitchen table with a list of vocabulary words in front of me, memorizing how each one looked rather than what they meant. When I believed I knew all of them, my grandmother would have me stand on a chair and say a word at random, and I had to spell it out. If I messed up, I would go back to studying…or should I say memorizing.

Up until 7th grade, I was never quizzed on what my vocab words meant. What mattered to my school was speed and accuracy. I believe this was the reason I was diagnosed with dyslexia so late in my schooling career. I was never tested on comprehension, only memorization.

I’m now a junior in high school, and looking back, this routine reflected a much larger problem in American education, one that was cemented by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Passed in 2001, No Child Left Behind was designed with good intentions. Its goal was to ensure accountability, close achievement gaps, and make sure students didn’t fall through the cracks. But in practice, it reduced learning to numbers, test scores, and rigid standards. Instead of encouraging deep understanding or critical thinking, it pushed schools to focus on what could be easily measured.

My Thursday spelling drills were small examples of this mindset. Learning became more focused on performance rather than comprehension. Just like standardized tests, success was narrowly defined, leaving little room for genuine learning.

Because schools are primarily judged on state testing results, teachers were pushed to “teach to the test.” Lessons started to feel repetitive and formulaic, designed to produce the right answers rather than critical thinkers. The most troubling part is that NCLB didn’t just fail some students; it reshaped how we all understood learning. Students who struggled with testing were labeled as behind, even if they excelled in other ways. Meanwhile, students who could memorize quickly were rewarded, even if they lacked deeper understanding. The system didn’t account for different learning styles, backgrounds, or strengths.

Ironically, a policy meant to leave no child behind ended up leaving many of us unprepared. We learned how to take tests, but not how to think critically. We learned how to meet benchmarks, but not how to ask meaningful questions. Education became about surviving the next assessment, instead of building skills that would last a lifetime.

Today, as conversations about education reform continue, it’s important to reflect on what No Child Left Behind taught us and what it failed to teach us. Accountability matters, but it should never come at the expense of real learning. Students are more than test scores, and education should be more than memorization for high-pressure evaluations.

I’m grateful my grandmother cared enough to help me study, but I wish my education had asked more of me than spelling words correctly on a chair in the kitchen. True learning happens when we understand and connect, not when we’re simply taught to perform. Until our education system recognizes that, we will continue leaving students behind, no matter what the policy promises.