The No Child Left Behind Act Essay

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

Since the No Child Left Behind Act, also known as NCLB, has come into effect, it has caused some concerns with teachers and parents alike on how well it is working for the students. There have been issues that have arisen that needed to be addressed and instead been overlooked when a child does not meet with the school’s standardized testing and is pushed onto the next grade level.

In 2004, coinciding with the conclusion of President George W. Bush’s first term in office, United States Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, released an essay depicting the successes of his administration. Paige’s department spearheaded the initiative sparked by the No Child Left Behind Act, a set of policies enacted to reform education and provide students with an improved degree of learning more suited to the evolving job market. Paige brings light to the findings of his administration, presenting what he considers to be evidence explicitly showing the successful nature of these programs. Through numerous faults with his argumentation and reasoning, however, Paige’s opinion on the outcome of said policies is highly debatable. To judge

The No Child left Behind Act was intended to close the achievement gap in elementary and secondary schools by allowing each and every student the opportunity to have the best education possible. This law was signed by George W. Bush in 2001 who described it as a law that will, “Ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education”(Neill 2). The No Child Left Behind Act was only intended to help the students, but it is clear, not only to teachers, parents, and professionals, that it is time for a reauthorized law; One that each and every student can benefit from. The achievement gap in America’s school systems still exists. For the sake of America’s future, the school system must make a change now or the future of this country will suffer.

The No Child Left Behind Act is designed to raise the achievement levels of subgroups of students such as African Americans, Latinos, low-income students, and special education students to a state-determined level of proficiency. However, since its introduction in 2001, it has received a lot of criticism. Some argue the ulterior motives of the Act while others commend its innovation and timing. With the Bush administration coming to an end, it is difficult to determine what will happen to the Act or how effective it will continue to be. Hopefully future lawmakers will be able to evaluate the pros and cons of the Act and the impact it will have on our youth.

The purpose of this paper is to address the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 10, 2015. The paper will also address the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002. The paper will talk about some of the key components of ESSA in comparison with NCLB and identify some possible strengths and weaknesses in ESSA’s new approach.

The question of whether the “No Child Left Behind is a Flawed policy”, is an emotive topic that merits debate for Citizens within the American Society. As such, NCLB strategy should be reauthorized, it is projected that much more improvements in Math and English will be seen among students in Public Schools. The NCLB policy has also paid special consideration to individuals with disabilities, by maintaining that they be included in a general education school environment. The main intention of NCLB is to provide students with an Individualized Education Plan the same grading scheme as other children. The NCLB supporters may also claim that they are making great accomplishments in high needs schools across the country.

This article in the Times newspaper, points out problems and flaws with the 2002 U.S. No Child Left Behind educational legislation, which was designed to improve education in the U.S. Topics that are discussed include, teachers complaints that No Child Left Behind policy sets impossible standards and forces teachers to teach based on the test material, and how the bill originally came to life by the proposal of former U.S. president George W. Bush. The other topic

Through the years there have been many pushes for better education and each time new laws are implemented. Many of the old laws have been updated with improvements. These new laws are given a new name. The “No Child Left Behind” Act has given everyone a new approach to education while implementing many new stipulations and regulations.

On January 8, 2002, President George Bush signed into law The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which was a reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was designed to help disadvantaged students achieve success in school (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011) The components of The No Child Left Behind included annual testing, academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes. These measures were “designed to drive broad gains in student achievement and to hold states and schools more accountable for student progress” (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011, para. 3). NCLB also promised to close the achievement gap and increase student learning (Hursh 2007).

Who are Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello? Present this question to a room full of children (as well as teenagers) and you are only going to receive references to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as responses, nearly without a shred of doubt. Though those guys are great, as someone in my mid-twenties I have some nostalgic attachment to them as well, this fictional presentation, with its’ fictional responses which is actually not related to those fictional characters at all, presents a prime example of the large void in the level of insight of what the education system has instilled in our youths. At the turn of the century, there seemed to be a shift. And that shift is due, in part, to the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal public education act that forces schools to follow certain policies and meets standards in order to receive federal funding. It is believed by many that No Child Left Behind has assisted in the marginalization of arts education in public schools by way of prioritizing core subjects. This thinking, and by conjecture this act, have been a detriment to the development of children. Therefore, I propose that if this act is to be in place, in order for public schools to provide the best possible education for the future of this country, they must also implement benchmark testing for fine arts classes identical to those of the core subjects.

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)

The No Child Left Behind Act should tremendously be re-examined and amended because the focus on the standardized tests decrease the quality of other subjects not on the tests, the tests are not an efficient tool to make certain that a student is receiving an excellent education and the tests create unnecessary stress for the students, teachers and administrators. The purpose of No Child Left Behind is to provide every student with the opportunity to receive a top-grade education. This is a great proposal to strive towards but, legislation plans on achieving this proposal by making schools responsible for their students’ proficiency and to measure their proficiency with the use of standardized tests. After the students take the

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has become a large, nationwide issue, since President George Bush signed it into law on January 8, 2002, giving the schools the responsibility to keep every student’s academic achievement at a passing level. (Florida Department of Education; 2003; pg. 1) Each state had twelve years to have all students proficient in reading and math, which gave each state less than a year to create a plan. (Kim & Sunderman; 2004; pg. 19) Title I, which is included in this act, began in 1965 when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed, which gave federal funds to help academically struggling students. (North

Education is the foundation of American society. It empowers the youth of America to become the successful leaders this country needs for the future. Education has been one of America’s top priorities since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Now, education is controlled by the No Child Left Behind Act, which was launched in January 8, 2002. This act was passed with intentions from the government to provide Americans with a more superior education system. However, The No Child Left Behind Act carried many flaws which were left unseen to a vast majority of the public. This act limited American students by not allowing them to demonstrate their full academic potentials while proceeding in school. While the