No Child Left behind Legislation

AuthorDorothy Maxwell
Pages543-544

Page 543

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) national legislation was enacted into law in 2001 and represents major changes in public schools at both the elementary and secondary level. NCLB is based on the concept that "no child will be left behind" in every aspect of children's academic education. NCLB legislation has created many detailed and challenging pieces in the process of its implementation.

The NCLB Act reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and incorporates strategies and principles of President George W. Bush. These include:

Increased accountability for individual states, school districts, and individual schools

More school choice for parents and students, with special emphasis on students attending low-performing schools

More choice for states and local educational agencies in the use of money from the federal government

A stronger emphasis on reading instruction, with special emphasis on younger children

INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability for instruction is now being required by all states in that they are required to develop and implement a process of statewide accountability for students attending public schools.

Incorporated into the accountability process is a development and assessment procedure to establish state standards in subject areas, with an initial focus on reading and mathematics. States are responsible for annual testing of all students in grades 3–8, with the overall goal that students will reach proficiency by grade 12. In the process of doing this, results are sorted by race, ethnicity, poverty, disability, and limited English proficiency. School districts that fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward statewide proficiency goals will be subject to improvement, corrective action, and/or restructuring to get them back on track. Schools that meet or exceed the AYP goals will be eligible for special recognition.

Page 544

MORE CHOICE FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS

As a result of the NCLB Act, parents have greater options available to them in determining what schools their children attend. This process may involve restructuring in a variety of configurations to provide a student with the opportunity to attend a school that better meets the student's individual needs. Whenever this...

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