Prior to the evaluation of the No Child Left Behind policy, there should be concern to what social and ethical issues could arise from or be affected by the policy. Though there is a concern about national involvement in education, the ramifications of the change in policy that arises from evaluation of that policy can resound through communities and states in different ways. Whether that state or district is rural or urban, if the social class within that area will change, and if the policy changes will result in the draining of financial supplies are all questions that should be considered when the policy is changed and evaluated at the national level.

Robicheau cites  Armstrong, (2006) Pardini, (2004) Duck, Trucker, Groden & Heinecke (2003), and Starratt (2004) about ethical issues of NCLB. Armstrong contends that NCLB takes away the focus on education of the human begins and instead focuses on standardized tests. This ideal places emphasis on numbers and statistics instead of looking at the whole child. The group is scrutinized more than the student and the group will undergo changes if the scores are low, not the individual. Many individuals and groups find that this type of policy turns the school systems into a bureaucracy and takes out the human element which is the fiber of society.

Misco (2005) argues that ethics and social concerns has been minimalized by NCLB and the evaluation of the policy should not diminish social studies classes and the content. Though the idea of citizenship taught by schools was a product of the 1950s, the total disregard of ethics and citizenship taught through social studies will undermine the very idea of ethical practice according to the author. If the policy is to be evaluated and social concerns are to be applied before hand, the very grass roots of ethical training needs to be implemented and included.

As with all public and educational policys, the ethical and social concerns must be looked at. Policy shapes society and without the ethical considerations, there could be far reaching affects that could transform and even go against the goals the original policy had set. Social engineering is a term that is often used with policy making and with any social engineering aspect, ethical considerations must be conducted. Misco (2005) continues the argument by stating that if you look through the lenses of the learner, you will see that they are relying on the teacher, the administrator, and the policy makers to create a environment of learning that can enable them to thrive as an adult in society.

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