What was the purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act?
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was the main law for K–12 general education in the United States from 2002–2015. The law held schools accountable for how kids learned and achieved. The law was controversial in part because it penalized schools that didn't show improvement.
How does the No Child Left Behind Act affect students?
For example, we find evidence that NCLB increased average school district expenditure by nearly $600 per pupil. This increased expenditure was allocated both to direct student instruction and to educational support services.
Who benefits from No Child Left Behind?
The primary benefit of the No Child Left Behind Act was that it allowed each state in the US to develop their own achievement standards. It placed an emphasis on annual testing for those skills, tracking academic process for individual students, and improving teacher qualifications.
Has No Child Left Behind been good for education?
Based on the federal government's own tests, there is little evidence that the No Child Left Behind Act has spurred significant, lasting improvements in academic outcomes.
Overview
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in educatio…
Background
Prior to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. Its goal was to provide additional resources to low-income students, but following its enactment, the nation repeatedly fell short of meeting the law's goal of providing full educational opportunities to students. Fears concerning the American education system culminated with the 1983 release of a report entitled A Nation A…
Legislative history
President George W. Bush first proposed the use of federal aid to create a plan by which to hold schools accountable for the educational outcomes of their students on January 23, 2001; however, as it was initially described, the Act faced significant criticism from interest groups such as the Education Trust because of its inclusion of vouchers. Vouchers would enable parents to choose a different school (public, private, or otherwise) for their child to attend if their district fai…
Provisions of the act
According to the U.S. Department of Education, some of the most important things that the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 sets out to accomplish are increasing the accountability of schools for the educational outcomes of their students and bridging the gap between poor and high-performing students and districts. In order to do this, NCLB requires all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a nationwide standardized test annually to students in select grade…
Effects on teachers, schools, and school districts
Supporters of the NCLB claim one of the strong positive points of the bill is the increased accountability that is required of schools and teachers. According to the legislation, schools must pass yearly tests that judge student improvement over the fiscal year. These yearly standardized tests are the main means of determining whether schools live up to required standards. If required improvements are not made, the schools face decreased funding and other punishmen…
Effects on student assessment
Several of the analyses of state accountability systems that were in place before NCLB indicate that outcomes accountability led to faster growth in achievement for the states that introduced such systems. The direct analysis of state test scores before and after enactment of NCLB also supports its positive impact. A primary criticism asserts that NCLB reduces effective instruction and student learning by causing states to lower achievement goals and motivate teachers to "te…
Improved test scores
The United States Department of Education points to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, released in July 2005, showing improved student achievement in reading and math:
• More progress was made by nine-year-olds in reading in the last five years than in the previous 28 years combined.
Intended effects on curriculum and standards
Many argue that local government had failed students, necessitating federal intervention to remedy issues like teachers teaching outside their areas of expertise, and complacency in the face of continually failing schools. Some local governments, notably that of New York state, have supported NCLB provisions, because local standards failed to provide adequate oversight over special education, and NCLB would let them use longitudinal data more effectively to monitor Ad…
History
- Purpose
No Child Left Behind was a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the primary federal law regulating K-12 education. The ESEA was first enacted in 1965 and re-authorized in 1994. The law includes Title I, the flagship program for disadvantaged students… - Legislative history
President George W. Bush initially proposed the No Child Left Behind Act on January 23, 2001. It was co-authored by Representatives George Miller and John Boehner and Senators Ted Kennedy and Judd Gregg. The United States House of Representatives passed the bill, voting 384-45 on …
Provisions
- A central component of No Child Left Behind was the administration of statewide standardized tests to all students. In order for school districts to receive Title I funding, schools had to demonstrate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), meaning that student's test scores must have improved when compared to the previous year's students at that grade level. If schools fail to m…
Funding
- As part of the funding for No Child Left Behind, Congress increased federal spending on elementary and secondary education from $42.2 billion to $55.7 billion in 2001, the fiscal year prior to the law's implementation. This was accompanied by a $1 billion Reading First program and its $100 million companion program, Early Reading First. Total federal funding for educatio…
Criticism
- Inadequate funding
Critics voiced objections to No Child Left Behind funding levels following the law's passage. The requirements of the law placed greater demands on state and local education agencies without providing full reimbursement for the expenses they incurred. NCLB co-sponsor Senator Ted Ken… - Total proficiency
Many education advocates expressed concerns about the law's proficiency requirements despite initially supporting the legislation. Education historian Diane Ravitch labeled the provision that all students attain proficient scores in reading and mathematics by 2014 as flawed, since it did not …
Reform
- In 2004, a proposal from 156 national organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, released a joint organizational statement on No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The statement condemned NCLB based on its perceived overemphasis on standardized testing, narrowing of curriculum instructi…
See Also
External Links