No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 | Wex - Law.Cornell.Edu

The No Child Left Behind Act was a major education reform initiated by President George W. Bush in 2001. The bill, which became the primary federal law ... Pleasehelpusimproveoursite! × Nothankyou LII Wex NoChildLeftBehindActof2001 NoChildLeftBehindActof2001 Primarytabs TheNoChildLeftBehindActwasamajoreducationreforminitiatedbyPresidentGeorgeW.Bushin2001.Thebill,whichbecametheprimaryfederallawregulatingK-12education,revampedtheElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965(ESEA).ThebillpassedbothhousesofCongresswithbroadbipartisansupportandwasofficiallysignedintolawbyPresidentBushonJanuary8,2002. NCLBwasdesignedtoaddresstheconcernthattheAmericaneducationsystemwaslaggingbehinditsinternationalcompetitorsbyholdingschoolsresponsibleforboostingstudentperformancethroughmandatedstandardizedtestsandminimumperformancebenchmarks.Thelawrequiredstatestoteststudentsingrades3-8inreadingandmathandbreakdownstudentdataintosubgroupsbyrace,disability,andsocioeconomicstatus.Statesalsohadtoensureallteacherswere“highlyqualified,”meaningtheyhaveabachelor’sdegreeandstatecertificationinthesubjecttheyareteaching.Schoolsanddistrictsthatfailedtomakeadequateyearlyprogress(AYP)fortwoyearsweresubjecttoincreasinglyheavysanctionsincludingbeingforcedtoallowstudentstotransfertobetterperformingschools,offeringfreetutoring,andcouldultimatelyfacestateintervention. In2012,PresidentBarackObamaintroducedmoreflexibilitytoNCLBandsoftenedtheconsequencesforunderperformingschoolsbygrantingwaiverstostates.Thewaiversallowedcertainstatestoavoidmanyofthemandatesofthelawinexchangeforagreementstoraisestandards,improveaccountability,andimproveteachereffectiveness.CongressreplacedNCLBwiththeEveryStudentSucceedsActinDecember2015. [LastupdatedinJulyof2020bytheWexDefinitionsTeam]     wex CIVICS educationlaw wexdefinitions WexToolbox