No Child Left Behind Act - Ballotpedia

The No Child Left Behind Act required states to implement minimum performance benchmarks for students, schools and school districts based on standardized ... × GetEmailUpdatesfromBallotpedia Email* FirstName* LastName PleasecompletetheCaptchaabove × BallotpediaonFacebook  Sharethispage  FollowBallotpedia × BallotpediaonTwitter  Sharethispage  FollowBallotpedia Subscribe Donate Subscribe Subscribe Donate What'sonyourballot? FindoutwithBallotpedia'sSampleBallotLookuptool Wanttoknowwhat'sonyourballot?UseBallotpedia'sSampleBallottool NoChildLeftBehindAct FromBallotpedia Jumpto: navigation, search Federalism Termsanddefinitions Laws Courtcases Majorarguments Stateresponsestofederalmandates Statesurveyofthefederalgrantreviewprocess Stateresponsestothefederalgrantreviewprocesssurvey,2021 Stateresponsesbyquestiontothefederalgrantreviewprocesssurvey,2021 Federalismbythenumbers Federalismbythenumbers:Federalmandates Federalismbythenumbers:Federalgrants-in-aid Federalismbythenumbers:Federalinformationcollectionrequests Overviewoffederalspendingduringthecoronavirus(COVID-19)pandemic Indexofarticles EducationpolicyintheU.S. PubliceducationintheU.S. SchoolchoiceintheU.S. CharterschoolsintheU.S. HighereducationintheU.S. Glossaryofeducationterms Educationstatistics Contents 1History 1.1Purpose 1.2Legislativehistory 1.3Implementation 1.4Waivers 2Provisions 3Funding 4Criticism 4.1Inadequatefunding 4.2Totalproficiency 4.3Emphasisonstandardizedtesting 4.4Individualswithdisabilities 5Reform 6Recentnews 7Seealso 8Externallinks 9Footnotes TheNoChildLeftBehindActwasapieceoffederaleducationlegislationthatwaspassedintopubliclawin2001.NoChildLeftBehind(NCLB)supportedstandards-basededucationreform,builtonthephilosophythatsettinghighstandardsandestablishingmeasurablegoalsforschoolswouldimproveindividualoutcomesforpublicschoolstudents.Thelegislationrequiredstatestodevelopstandardizedtestsandtogivetheseassessmentstoallstudentsatcertaindesignatedgradelevelsinordertoreceivefederalfunding.Eachindividualstatewasresponsiblefordevelopingitsownstandards.ThebillpassedwithbipartisansupportandwassignedintolawbyPresidentGeorgeW.BushonJanuary8,2002.NCLBwasreplacedwiththeEveryStudentSucceedsActinDecember2015.[1] History Purpose NoChildLeftBehindwasare-authorizationoftheElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,theprimaryfederallawregulatingK-12education.TheESEAwasfirstenactedin1965andre-authorizedin1994.ThelawincludesTitleI,theflagshipprogramfordisadvantagedstudents.ThecoreofNCLBaimedtoimprovestudentachievementthroughannualstandardizedassessmentofstudents,therebyquantifyingeducationprogressandmakingschoolsaccountableforstudentperformance.Thelawalsoincludedprovisionstoallowschooldistrictsincreasedflexibilityinspendingfederalfunds.[1][2] Atthetimeofitspassage,therewasincreasingpublicconcernregardingthestateofpubliceducation.Thelawwascreatedwiththeintentionofplacinggreateraccountabilityonschooldistrictsforpoorstudentperformanceandrewardingdistrictsforexcellentstudentperformance.[3] Legislativehistory Federalism •Keyterms•Majorarguments•Stateresponsestofederalmandates•Federalismbythenumbers•Indexofarticlesaboutfederalism PresidentGeorgeW.BushinitiallyproposedtheNoChildLeftBehindActonJanuary23,2001.Itwasco-authoredbyRepresentativesGeorgeMillerandJohnBoehnerandSenatorsTedKennedyandJuddGregg.TheUnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativespassedthebill,voting384-45onMay23,2001.[4]TheUnitedStatesSenatealsopassedthebill,voting91-8onJune14,2001.ThebillwassignedintolawonJanuary8,2002.[5] Implementation TheNoChildLeftBehindActrequiredstatestoimplementminimumperformancebenchmarksforstudents,schoolsandschooldistrictsbasedonstandardizedtesting.Schooldistrictswererequiredtomeetperformancegoalsasaprerequisitetoreceivefederalfunding.Thelawrequiredstatestoexpandanddevelopstandardizedtestsinbothmathematicsandreading,whichweretobeadministeredduringfrom3rdto5thgrade,6thto9thgradeand10thto12thgrade.Beginninginthe2007-2008schoolyear,schoolswererequiredtoassessstudentsinscienceonceduringeachofthosethreegradespans.Whenthelawwasfirstenacted,48stateshadexistingstatewidetestsinreadingandmathematics.Ofthosestates,34alsoadministeredtestsinscience,butnotinallofthethreegradespans.Thefederalgovernmentappropriated$2.34billioninordertoimplementstateassessmentsbetween2002and2007.[6][7] Waivers In2012,PresidentBarackObamagrantedwaiversfromsomeofthelaw'smandatestoseveralstates.InexchangeforflexibilityregardingNoChildLeftBehind,thesestatesagreed"toraisestandards,improveaccountability,andundertakeessentialreformstoimproveteachereffectiveness."Thesewaiversweregrantedinfivestageswhicharelistedbelow.[8] February9,2012-Colorado,Florida,Georgia,Indiana,Kentucky,Massachusetts,Minnesota,NewJersey,OklahomaandTennessee February15,2012-NewMexico May29,2012-Connecticut,Delaware,Louisiana,Maryland,NewYork,NorthCarolina,OhioandRhodeIsland June29,2012-Arkansas,Missouri,SouthDakota,UtahandVirginia July6,2012-WashingtonandWisconsin Eightstatesweregrantedconditionalwaivers,meaningtheirstate'splansremainedunderreview.Fivestatesdidnotcompletetheirwaiverrequirements.Thosestates—Alabama,Alaska,Idaho,Iowa,Maine,andWestVirginia—weregrantedaoneyearfreezeonrisingtargetsforstandardizedtestscores.[9] Asofthestartof2014,42stateshadbeengrantedwaiversfromtheNoChildLeftBehindAct.NorthDakotaandWyomingwithdrewtheirwaiverrequests,whileCaliforniaandIowa'swaiverrequestswererejected.NeitherNebraskanorMontanarequestedwaivers,andIllinois'waiverrequestremainedpending.[10] Provisions AcentralcomponentofNoChildLeftBehindwastheadministrationofstatewidestandardizedteststoallstudents.InorderforschooldistrictstoreceiveTitleIfunding,schoolshadtodemonstrateAdequateYearlyProgress(AYP),meaningthatstudent'stestscoresmusthaveimprovedwhencomparedtothepreviousyear'sstudentsatthatgradelevel.Ifschoolsfailtomeetthisrequirement,theywereheldaccountablethroughthefollowingsteps:[11] SchoolsthatmissedAYPfortwoconsecutiveyearswerepubliclylabeledas"inneedofimprovement."TheseschoolswererequiredtodevelopatwoyearimprovementplanforthesubjectinwhichtheschoolisnotmeetingAYP.Studentswerealsogiventheoptionoftransferringtoabetterschoolwithintheschooldistrict. MissingAYPforathirdconsecutiveyearmandatedthatschoolsofferfreetutoringandothersupplementaleducationservicestostudentsthatwerestruggling. SchoolsmissingAYPforafourthconsecutiveyearwerepubliclylabeledas"requiringcorrectiveaction."Correctiveactioncouldincludechangesinthestaffandadministration,introductionofanewcurriculum,orextendingtheamountoftimestudentsspendintheclassroom. IfaschoolfailedtomeetAYPforafifthconsecutiveyear,aplanwasputinplacetorestructuretheentireschool.ThisplanwasimplementediftheschoolthenfailedtomeetAYPforasixthconsecutiveyear.Optionsforrestructuringincludedclosingtheschool,hiringaprivatecompanytoruntheschool,convertingtheschoolintoacharterschool,oraskingthestatedepartmentofeducationtodirectlyoverseeschooloperations. StateshadtocreateAYPobjectivesthatwereconsistentwiththefollowingsevenrequirements: StateswererequiredtodevelopAYPstatewidemeasurableobjectivesforimprovedacademicachievementandforgroupssuchasstudentswithdisabilities,economicallydisadvantagedstudents,andstudentswithlimitedEnglishlanguageproficiency. Theseobjectivesweresetwiththegoalofhavingallstudentsataproficientlevelin12years. AYPwastobebasedonstatewidestandardizedassessments,buthadtoincludeoneadditionalacademicindicator. AYPwastobeassessedonaschool-widelevel.SchoolsnotmeetingAYPfortwoconsecutiveyearswereidentifiedasneedingimprovement. SchoolAYPresultswerereportedseparatelyforeachoftheidentifiedstudentgroupsinordertodetermineifthedistrictwasmeetingAYP. Atleast95percentofeachgroupofstudentshadtoparticipateinthestatewideassessments. StatescouldaggregatethreeyearsofdatawhenmakingAYPdeterminations. Stateswererequiredtoprovidehighlyqualifiedteacherstoallstudents.Eachstatewasresponsibleforcreatingtheirstandardforhighlyqualified.Stateswerealsorequiredtocreateonehigh,challengingstandard,whichthestatedefined,andthestatehadtoapplythesecurriculumstandardstoallstudents. Thelawalsorequiredschoolstoallowmilitaryrecruitersaccesstostudents'contactandacademicinformationiftheschoolalsoprovidedthisinformationtocollegesoremployers,unlessthestudentchosetoopt-out. Funding AspartofthefundingforNoChildLeftBehind,Congressincreasedfederalspendingonelementaryandsecondaryeducationfrom$42.2billionto$55.7billionin2001,thefiscalyearpriortothelaw'simplementation.Thiswasaccompaniedbya$1billionReadingFirstprogramandits$100millioncompanionprogram,EarlyReadingFirst.Totalfederalfundingforeducationwasincreasedby59.8percentbetween2000and2003.Fundingforschooltechnologygrantswasalsoincreasedto$692millionalongside$2.9billioningrantsforimprovingteacherquality.Another$11.1billioningrantswasmadeavailableforspecialeducationand$2.7billionwasallottedforvocationaltechnologyeducation.[12] SchooldistrictswerealsograntedincreasedflexibilitytoallocatefederalfundstoTitleIprogramsorprogramsforimprovingteacherquality,improvingstudentachievementthroughintegrationoftechnologyintotheclassroom,safeanddrugfreeschoolprograms,orprogramstoexpandschoolchoice. Criticism Inadequatefunding CriticsvoicedobjectionstoNoChildLeftBehindfundinglevelsfollowingthelaw'spassage.Therequirementsofthelawplacedgreaterdemandsonstateandlocaleducationagencieswithoutprovidingfullreimbursementfortheexpensestheyincurred.NCLBco-sponsorSenatorTedKennedycriticizedtheamountoffunding,stating,"Thetragedyisthattheselongoverduereformsarefinallyinplace,butthefundsarenot."[13]ManyorganizationsclaimedthattheprovisionsofNCLBwerenotfullyfundedbytheDepartmentofEducationappropriations.CriticsofthelawalsoclaimedthatfundingfortheEnhancingEducationThroughTechnologyProgramdecreasedovertimeasdemandforclassroomtechnologyincreased.Infiscalyear2007,fundingforNCLBremainedstagnant,whichleftschooldistrictstocoverthedifferenceintheirfunding.Furthercriticismofthelaw'sfundingarosewhendistrictsstrugglingtomakeAdequateYearlyProgressfacedescalatingpenaltieswhilebeingdeniedtheresourcesnecessarytoaddresstheseshortcomings.[14] Totalproficiency Manyeducationadvocatesexpressedconcernsaboutthelaw'sproficiencyrequirementsdespiteinitiallysupportingthelegislation.EducationhistorianDianeRavitchlabeledtheprovisionthatallstudentsattainproficientscoresinreadingandmathematicsby2014asflawed,sinceitdidnotfullytakeintoaccountstudentswithspecialneeds,economicallydisadvantagedstudents,andstudentswhosenativelanguageisnotEnglish.Schooldistrictscouldhavefacedconsequencesiftheydidnotmeet100percentproficiencyinreadingandmathematicsbytheyear2014.Ravitchalsocriticizedtheprovisionthatplacedfailingschoolsinjeopardyofbecomingcharterschools,beingtakenoverbystateeducationagencies,orbeingclosedasaresultofnotmeetingprogressrequirements.[15] Emphasisonstandardizedtesting ManycriticsofNoChildLeftBehinddenounceditsrequirementofandemphasisonstandardizedtesting.Manyeducationadvocates,includingDianeRavitch,believedthatthisemphasiswouldresultinincreasededucationalfocusonthesubjectsofreadingandmathematics,whiletakingawayinstructionaltimefromsubjectsnotcoveredbythelaw.[15] Individualswithdisabilities UnderNoChildLeftBehind,disabledstudentswithIndividualizedEducationProgramsand504plansarecountedthesameasotherstudents'scoresarecounted.SchoolshavearguedagainsthavingdisabledpopulationsincludedintheirAYPmeasurementsbecausetheyclaimthattherearetoomanyvariablesinvolved.TheNationalCouncilforDisabilitieswasconcernedthatNCLBmayconflictwiththeIndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationActbecauseofitsfocusongroupachievementinsteadofindividualachievement.TheNCDalsohadconcernsthatNCLBfocusedonskillsassociatedwithstatestandardizedtesting,ratherthanthework-basedexperiencenecessaryforobtainingemployment.[16] Reform In2004,aproposalfrom156nationalorganizations,includingtheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnion,theNationalEducationAssociationandtheAmericanFederationofTeachers,releasedajointorganizationalstatementonNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB).ThestatementcondemnedNCLBbasedonitsperceivedoveremphasisonstandardizedtesting,narrowingofcurriculuminstruction,anduseofsanctionsthattheysaiddidnotimproveschools.TheseorganizationsproposedsignificantreformstoNCLBbasedonprogressmeasurement,assessments,buildingcapacity,sanctions,andfullyfundingTitleItoensurethatallstudentswereequallyserved.[17] In2010,PresidentBarackObamapresentedtheBlueprintforReformingtheElementaryandSecondaryEducationActtoCongress.Onesignificantprovisionoftheproposedlawrewardedschooldistrictswithhighpovertyratesthatshowedimprovement.Italsoprovidedfortheidentificationofandinterventionindistrictsthatfailedtomeetthesegoals.Additionally,theBlueprintrequiredstatesanddistrictstocreatemethodsofmeasuringteacherandprincipaleffectivenessinordertoensurethateveryclassroomandschoolhadhighqualityteachersandprincipals.ThisreformeffortalsoacknowledgedandrespondedtothecriticismthatNCLBcouldgivestatesanincentivetolowerstandardsinordertomakethemmoreattainable.[18][19] InDecember2015,NCLBwasreplacedwiththeEveryStudentSucceedsAct.ThelawreducedtheauthorityoftheU.S.DepartmentofEducationoverstateeducationsystemsbygivingbothstatesandschooldistrictsmorepowertodeterminetheirowntestingstandards,academicassessments,andinterventionmethods.[20][21] Recentnews ThissectionlinkstoaGooglenewssearchfortheterm"No+Child+Left+Behind" NoChildLeftBehindNewsFeed Seealso Schoolboardelectionsportal Glossaryofeducationterms RacetotheTop PubliceducationintheUnitedStates Externallinks Fulltextofthelaw EducationWeeksummary StatebystatecomparisonofNCLBimplementation Footnotes ↑1.01.1JosieCanales,JamesFrey,CathyWalker,SherryFreelandWalker,SuzanneWeissandAnnaWest,EducationCommissionoftheStates,"NoStateLeftBehind:TheChallengesandOpportunitiesofESEA2001,"accessedJanuary28,2014 ↑PBS,"TheNewRules:AnoverviewofthetestingandaccountabilityprovisionsoftheNoChildLeftBehindAct,"accessedJanuary28,2014 ↑NicholasLemann,TheNewYorker,"LetterfromWashington:TestingLimits,"July2,2001 ↑ClerkoftheHouseofRepresentatives,"FINALVOTERESULTSFORROLLCALL145,"accessedJanuary23,2014 ↑SenateoftheUnitedStates,"U.S.SenateRollCallVotes107thCongress-1stSession,"accessedJanuary23,2014 ↑MargaretE.Goertz,TaylorandFrancisOnline,"ImplementingtheNoChildLeftBehindAct:ChallengesfortheStates,"November18,2009 ↑UnitedStatesDepartmentofEducation,"StateandLocalImplementationoftheNoChildLeftBehindAct:VolumeIX-AccountabilityunderNCLB:FinalReport,"accessedJanuary28,2014 ↑CNN,"10statesfreedfromsome'NoChildLeftBehind'requirements,"accessedFebruary10,2012 ↑JoyResmovits,HuffingtonPost,"NoChildLeftBehindWaiversGrantedTo33U.S.States,SomeWithStringsAttached,"August13,2012 ↑EducationWeek,"NCLBWaivers:AState-by-StateBreakdown,"October2,2013 ↑AndrewJ.RotherhamandErinDillon,EducationSectoratAmericanInstitutesforResearch,"States'Evidence:WhatItMeanstoMake'AdequateYearlyProgress'UnderNCLB,"July23,2007 ↑UnitedStatesDepartmentofEducation,"FiscalYear2005BudgetSummary—February2,2004,"accessedJanuary24,2014 ↑W.JamesAntle,III,TheAmericanConservative,"LeavingNoChildLeftBehind,"August1,2005 ↑NPR,"FundingStagnantforNoChildLeftBehindProgram,"August20,2007 ↑15.015.1NationalEducationAssociation,"StoptheMadness,"September2010 ↑AmericanYouthPolicyForum,"NoChildLeftBehind:ImprovingEducationalOutcomesforStudentswithDisabilities,"accessedJanuary24,2014 ↑FairTest,"JointOrganizationalStatementonNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB)Act,"accessedJanuary27,2014 ↑WhiteHouse,"ReformingNoChildLeftBehind,"accessedJanuary27,2014 ↑UnitedStatesDepartmentofEducation,"ESEAReauthorization:ABlueprintforReform,"accessedJanuary27,2014 ↑myAJC,"SenateretiresNoChildLeftBehind,adoptsEveryStudentSucceeds.Obamawillsigntomorrow.,"December9,2015 ↑12ActionNews,"BillpassedtomakeCommonCoreoptional,supportpre-Keducation,"December2,2015 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