The No Child Left Behind Act

Introduction The role of the federal government in setting education policy increased significantly with the passage by Congress of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a sweeping education reform law that revised the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. "Federal policy has played a major role in supporting standards-based reform since the passage of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994. That law required states to establish challenging content and performance standards, implement assessments…hold school systems accountable…" (Goertz, 2005, pg. 73)

When President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law in 2002, the legislation had one goal-- to improve educational equity for all students in the United States by implementing standards for student achievement and school district and teacher performance. Before the No Child Left Behind Act, the program of study for most schools was developed and implemented by individual states and local communities’ school boards. Proponents of the NCLB believed that lax oversight and lack of measurable standards by state and local communities was leading to the failure of the education system and required federal government intervention to correct. At the time, the Act seemed to be what the American educational system

President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on December 10, 2015. This Act advances the 52-year-old, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in an attempt to provide quality education to all students regardless of race or ethnicity, language, disability, or family income. Viewed as a civil rights law, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act further advanced equality in education; yet it’s very cumbersome requirements became untenable for schools and educators. Viewed as a natural progression of two very successful previous acts, the ESSA was designed to provide further equal opportunity for all students. However, Florida passed their required state version that has

"Making Sure That Schools Measure Up." Education Week, vol. 36, no. 16, 4 Jan. 2017, pp. 18-20. EBSCOhost. PDF. In this periodical article, Alyson Klein, reporter for Education Week, reflects on Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), an update to the K-12 education law, in the one year since it was passed in 2016. Klein discusses how the ESSA was designed to improve shortcomings of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the previous version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Klein also examines concerns over greater flexibility given to states and districts regarding issues such as standardized test, school choice, marginalized students. The Obama administration wrote how the accountability portion of the law would work, allowing states to pick their own goals, both a long term goal and short term goals. These goals must address students’ proficiency on tests, English-language proficiency, and graduation

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 The overarching difference between No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act is the shift of control to the states (Edutopia, 2016). While many of the accountability provisions may appear somewhat similar in regards to essential standards, proficiency assessments and improvements for failing schools, the autonomy has been granted to the states to determine exactly how those provisions should be carried out. Each state is responsible to create the best educational climate based on the demographics of their population and is responsible to hold their schools accountable for student performance. In other words, although there continues to be a federal framework, the states have

If the schools didn’t make AYP for three years in a row, they had to provide free tutoring and supplemental educational service. Everyone involved felt that the NCLB had unsolved issues. (Randolph & Wilson-Younger, 2012). There are teachers that argue that the testing is not fair with the children that are under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Children with individualized education plans are being forced to take standardized test on their grade level and the teachers argue that the tests might be way above where these children are academically. This also includes the children who have English as their second language because they are struggling when they are taking the standardized tests. Additionally, Choi, (Aug. 2012) describes how many schools struggle to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the Act called No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Pressures on the schools to meet the AYP can affect how each school does their testing and teaching policies. While states have been silent, the question has been whether states have a responsibility to intervene.

The American public educational system is filled with an assortment of problems. Most students are graduating with less knowledge and capability than similar students in other industrialized countries. Classroom disruptions are surprisingly common, and in some classrooms, nearly continuous. The public education system is having difficulty adjusting to the no child left behind act. The No Child Left Behind(NCLB) is a landmark in education reform designed to improve student achievement and change the culture of American’s schools.

A byproduct of accountability standards and school-choice, school closures are seemingly inevitable for public schools in urban areas across the United States. In the school year 2011–2012, there were 1,840 school closures in the United States and those closed schools enrolled and educated approximately 301,000 in the previous

The law was meant to increase student achievement and to hold states, schools, teachers and students more accountable. How exactly is NCLB changing schools? In, 2005-2006, states were required to test grades 3-8 in reading and math. Shortly after, they added in an annual science test in K-12. A lot of tedious testing grew in schools and is still continuing to grow today. Along with tests came certain standards for each state, as well as consequences for those who failed to meet them. Report Cards were being sent home with the school’s data along with the students’ performance. Teachers were even given higher standards to meet. There was a change in

Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA: Accountability The new 2015 federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) challenges states to draw on lessons from the last 15 years and to refine their accountability systems to provide the right combination of pressure and support for school improvement.

The NCLB Act has become the largest intervention by the federal government. This act promises to improve student learning and to close the achievement gap between the white students and students of color. The law is aimed at having standardized test to measure student performance and quality of teacher. The Standardized exams are fully focused on reading and mathematics. This law characterizes an unequalled extension of the federal role into the realm of local educational accountability. High school graduation rates are also a requirement as an indicator of performance at secondary level. In low performing schools they get punished by receiving less funds and students have the choice to move to high performing school. The quality of our

Every Student Succeeds Act On December 10, 2015 President Obama signed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This act was a replacement for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. NCLB was a representation of the nation’s goals under president George Bush in which all children would be offered support in order to flourish academically. While ESSA has the same groundwork as NCLB Act, the government anticipates greater academic merit. Only time will tell if this will prove true, nevertheless ESSA will significantly change educational approaches in the upcoming years.

While earlier rulings and legislation sought to address and improve on educational programs for ELLs, it simply wasn’t enough. In 2015, we would become witness to laws under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), formerly No Child Left Behind, which attempted to pave a road to a higher quality of education for ALL students. ESSA attempted to provide basic elements of accountability that did not exist before. Since

For many poor, minorities, and other disadvantaged groups, the country has not made significant progress toward quality education for at-risk youth consistent with specific provisions outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act, failing the

Reference: Wong, K. K. (2008, December). Federalism revised: The promise and challenge of the No Child Left Behind Act, Retrieved from: Public Administration Review: Special Issue on The Winter Commission Report Revisited, S175-S185. Document ID, ProQuest Social Science Journals database in the Ashford Online Library