The No Child Left Behind Act

Schools would administer standardized tests to measure the performance of the teachers and the students. A yearly progress report was provided to the United States Department of Education that could lead to punitive actions to the school if they were not meeting the national standards. Additionally, the Act required teachers to meet specific requirements if hired utilizing federal funding (Executive, 1). Although this was only an adjustment to the existing Act, the Act became known as NCLB.

While the ESEA made no requirements for core academic subjects, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), reauthorized the 1965 act. No significant academic criterion requirements were required federally under the NCLB. The act required each state to set their own standards for achievement in the standardized testing. NCLB did, however, emphasize core academics standards to include reading, language arts, math and science for assessment of all students to receive federal funds. In 2012, President Obama allotted NCLB waivers to states that agreed “to raise standards, improve accountability, and undertake essential reforms to improve teacher effectiveness,"(NCLB, Wikipedia, ref. 107). Alabama’s waiver initiated the states adoption of the international Core Curriculum along with their own Alabama College and Career Ready Standards which includes English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies (ACCR, par.1). According to Alabama Board of Education superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice, “Incorporating the Common Core Standards into our already highly regarded content standards brings a new level of rigor and perceptual

In 2002, the Bush Administration, in an effort to enhance ESEA, reauthorized ESEA and enacted the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which required

NCLB covers numerous federal education programs, however the law’s requirements for testing, accountability, and school

NCLB, the most recent version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was preceded by the Improving America’s Schools Act. Under that law, high-quality teaching and learning were not prevalent in all schools, and achievement gaps persisted, leading to agreement that a greater federal role for accountability was necessary—from which NCLB was born. NCLB authorized 45 programs in 10 different areas, but public debate tended to focus on the law’s testing, accountability, and teacher-quality requirements. NCLB required that students be tested in the subjects of English language arts (ELA) and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, and for states to use the results to assess how well schools were meeting “adequate yearly progress” goals for student proficiency in these subjects. Schools that consistently did not meet these goals overall, or for subgroups of students, were targeted for interventions, and eventually for sanctions.

The state and federal government student’s success acts were changed from the No Child Left Behind [NCLB] act which address the state accountability holding all school districts responsible for students learning (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). However; the NCLB Act was replaced in 2015 with the ESSA Act which stand for Every Student Succeeds Act and is federally mandated to support best practices for all types of learners from k-12th grades offering additional support (U.S. Department of Education, 2017)). The plan also addresses accountability measures in low achieving schools where students are not graduating at their assigned cohort. (U.S. Department of Education,

According to the Committee on Education and the Workforce (CEW), “Congress must replace No Child Left Behind with new policies that help every child access an excellent education.” (2015). They also stated that introducing ESSA, “will reduce the federal footprint, restore local control, and empower parents and education leaders to hold schools accountable for effectively teaching students.” The purpose of the ESSA to replace NCLB strict and unattainable regulations. For example, the accountability for the access of the students will depend on the state and school districts. Additionally, parents, particularly of those students who require special education, will have greater input in the education plan of the students and how it affects

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is a United States Act of Congress that is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included Title I, the government 's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students. No Child Left behind was enacted with the intent to become a government aid program for disadvantaged students, and eventually raise the general education standards for the United States. This act was created with the idea to “close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind” (ESEA) to put most simply. The act serves to only require certain basic skills, but does not have any national achievement standards, as it is decided on by each individual state. The bill was signed into effect by George W. Bush in January of 2002. Many people, opposers and supporters alike, argue that it is a "one-size-fits-all" approach to education and teaching that puts too much emphasis on testing and doesn 't fund schools properly, making it nearly impossible to achieve success. The law was initially designed to introduce national standards to a system in which students in some demographic groups were more likely to succeed and others likely to be left behind. But it allows states to determine how success is measured, which could be the source of its downfall.

The No Child Left Behind Act also has a very narrow focus on curriculum. The act focuses on just math and reading scores. This could have an undemocratic effect on a large generation of students in poorly performing schools. Schools would have take away much of the broad education in order to elevate scores on just two subject areas. Students in wealthy schools with good test scores will continue to learn a full range of subjects including art, social studies and science, while the students who scored poorly on the tests, will be receiving education in only two subject areas. It is not right to put two subjects as the top priority. This means that not all students will get a complete education. This concern with literacy and math skills divides education into two groups. One group is forced to learn basic skills and the other group gets the more complete education. The goal of raising the performance level of all students is an honorable idea, but the change in performance should be in all subject areas not just math and reading.

Ever since the establishment of modern schooling in 1911, experts have debated on the best ways to educate a child. Whether it be through teacher lectures, group discussions, or individual study, the importance of educational methods cannot be understated. Yet, contrary to our emphasis on education, the United States is ranked 35th in mathematics and 27th in science out the of the 64 countries examined by a Pew Research study in 2015. George Bush tried to counteract this historical trend in 2001 with the “No Child Left Behind Act”, which paved the way for the establishment of Common Core State Standards throughout the country. These standards aim to improve education through “common” assessments and

In 1965 the United States government passed into law the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. ESEA was originally designed to provide funding for schools so that poor students could receive an adequate education. The act underwent minor revisions and adjustments between 1965 and 2001 but mainly stayed within the bounds of its original intent. The 2001 reauthorization of ESEA introduced the NCLB standardized testing program. NCLB demands that students take standardized tests each year and achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) scores. The individual student AYP scores are lumped together and produce an aggregate school ranking. If any given school does not meet at least minimum AYP scoring requirements there are severe penalties up to and including a complete takeover of the school.

With this law, students are tested once while they are in high school. For this reason, states must make every effort to ensure that all test are aligned to the college and career ready standards. However, more changes in the law shifted position of the high stakes test. This simply means that more factors will be used to determine accountability. Test scores will no longer be the only measure that is used to determine funding for states and accountability for teachers.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was a U.S. Act of Congress, which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and effectively scaled up the federal role in holding schools accountable for student outcomes. According to Alyson Klein from an article called “No Child Left Behind: An Overview,” she explained that the NCLB’s purpose and goal was to advance American competitiveness and close the achievement gap between poor and minority students and their more advantaged peers. Overtime, the NCLB had a tremendous impact on teaching, learning, and school improvement, and with that, it also became increasingly controversial with educators and the general public (Klein, “No Child…”). The NCLB with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act had a

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), replacing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). ESSA was passed with bipartisan support and allows a more flexible plan for decision making for education at the state and local levels. Full implementation begins July 1, 2017. ESSA gives states more leeway in a wide range of areas, and the U.S. Department of Education role in accountability is considerably scaled back. The main difference in ESSA is that it hands the educational accountability ball from the federal government to the states.

The NCLB Act has a goal of "closing the student achievement gap". (http://www.NCLB.gov) This gap is being measured by age or grade skill knowledge leading to what is called "adequate yearly progress". (http://www.NCLB.gov) There are test given yearly in math, reading and soon science to measure this progress. According to Piaget some children may not be cognitively ready for the type of assessment that these exams are measuring. So teachers feel the need to teach for the test. This creates a repeated experience therefore after time the practice of the test gets assimilated into the child's cognitive structural base. The test is therefore learned and not the subject matter. This in turns creates a false structural base in which new knowledge is built upon. Thus the student achievement gap is not closed it is widened. There are other areas where NCLB Act is flawed. The goal of "setting a standard of excellence for every child" (http://www.NCLB.gov) in this flawed because equality of family situations is assumed and that is not always the case. As teachers we can guarantee these standards in the classroom but we cannot do it in the family situations in the home.