The 'No
Child Left Behind' Act of 2001, signed into law by President Bush on Jan. 8,
2002, is the newly revised version of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, the central federal law in pre-collegiate education. The ESEA, first
enacted in 1965 and last reauthorized in 1994, encompasses Title I, the
federal government's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students.
As the latest incarnation of the ESEA, the No Child Left Behind Act is
expected to greatly expand the federal role in education. Coming at a time
of wide public concern about the state of education, the legislation sets in
place requirements that will reach into virtually every public school in
America. It takes particular aim at improving the lot of students in
low-performing schools.
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"States' Plans Likely to Test ESEA Pliancy," Feb. 19, 2003.
"Suits Contend Officials Fail to Obey ESEA," Feb. 5, 2003.
"Federal Influence Over Curriculum Exhibits Growth," Feb. 5,
2003.
"Ed. Dept. OKs First Accountability Plans," Jan. 15, 2003.
"Report said Flexibility Necessary on ESEA," Jan. 8, 2003.
"Department Releases Guidelines on Choice," Dec. 11, 2002.
"States Strive Toward ESEA Compliance," Dec. 11, 2002.
"Mass. Retools Ratings System in Bid to Jibe With ESEA," Dec.
11, 2002.
"Can the Bush School Plan Work?," Commentary, Dec. 4, 2002.
"Final Rules Give States Direction, Little Flexibility," Dec. 4,
2002.
"States Anxious for Federal Guidance on Yearly Progress," Nov.
27, 2002.
"Draft Would Not Order Written Tests for Aides," Nov. 27, 2002.
"ACORN Faults Implementation Of New ESEA," Nov. 27, 2002.
"Dept. of Education to Hike Oversight of Reading Grants," Nov.
13, 2002.
"State Boards Worried About ESEA's Impact," Oct. 23, 2002.
"Unsafe Label Will Trigger School Choice," Oct. 23, 2002.
"States Revise the Meaning of 'Proficient'," Oct. 9, 2002.
"States Suffer Halting Start on Tutoring," Sept. 25, 2002.
"Paige, Bush Upbeat on Making ESEA Work," Sept. 11, 2002.
"City Districts Seek Teachers With Licenses," Sept. 11, 2002.
"Long-Awaited ESEA Rules Are Released," Aug. 7, 2002.
"State Leaders Gauge Impact of New ESEA, Voucher Ruling," Aug.
7, 2002.
"ESEA
Includes New Requirements on Educating Homeless Students," Aug.
7, 2002.
"Department Seeks to Clarify ESEA School Choice Mandates," July
10, 2002.
"Frustration Grows as States Await 'Adequate Yearly Progress'
Advice," July 10, 2002.
"States Unclear on ESEA Rules About Reading," May 1, 2002.
"'Inadequate' Yearly Gains Are Predicted," April 3, 2002.
"Agency Looks for Balance Policing ESEA," March 13, 2002.
"Teacher-Trainers Fear a Backfire From New ESEA," March 6, 2002.
"Testing Rules Would Grant States Leeway," March 6, 2002.
"States Gear Up for New Federal Law," Jan. 16, 2002.
"ESEA
to Boost Federal Role in Education," Jan. 9, 2002.
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At the core
of the No Child Left Behind Act are a number of measures designed to drive
broad gains in student achievement and to hold states and schools more
accountable for student progress. They represent potentially significant
changes to the education landscape (U.S. Department of Education, 2001).
Annual testing. By the 2005-06 school year, states must begin
testing students in grades 3-8 annually in reading and mathematics. The
tests must be aligned with state academic standards. A sample of 4th and 8th
graders in each state must also participate in the National Assessment of
Educational Progress testing program in reading and math every other year to
provide a point of comparison for state test results.
Academic progress. States must bring all students up to the
"proficient" level on state tests within 12 years (i.e., by the 2013-14
school year). Individual schools must meet state "adequate yearly progress"
targets toward this goal (based on a formula spelled out in the law) for
both their student populations as a whole and for certain demographic
subgroups. If a school receiving federal Title I funding fails to meet the
target two years in a row, its students must be offered a choice of other
public schools to attend. Students in schools that fail to make adequate
progress three years in a row must also be offered supplemental educational
services, including private tutoring. For continued failures, a school would
be subject to outside corrective measures, including possible governance
changes.
Report cards. Starting with the 2002-03 school year, states must
furnish annual report cards showing a range of information, including
student-achievement data broken down by subgroup and information on the
performance of school districts. Districts must provide similar report cards
showing school-by-school data.
Teacher qualifications. By the end of the 2005-06 school year,
every teacher in core content areas working in a public school must be
"highly qualified" in each subject he or she teaches. Under the law, "highly
qualified" generally means that a teacher is certified and demonstrably
proficient in his or her subject matter. Beginning with the 2002-03 school
year, all new teachers hired with federal Title I money must be "highly
qualified." By the end 2005-06 school year, all school paraprofessionals
hired with Title I money must have completed at least two years of college,
obtained an associate's degree or higher, or passed an evaluation to
demonstrate knowledge and teaching ability. That requirement is already in
effect for newly hired paraprofessionals.
Reading First. The act creates a new competitive-grant program
called Reading First, authorized at $900 million in 2002, to help states and
districts set up "scientific, research-based" reading programs for children
in grades K-3 (with priority given to high-poverty areas). A smaller
early-reading program seeks to help states better prepare 3- to 5-year-olds
in disadvantaged areas to read.
Funding changes. Through an alteration in the Title I funding
formula, the No Child Left Behind Act—along with the accompanying education
spending bill for 2002—is expected to better target resources to school
districts with high concentrations of poor children. The law also includes
provisions intended to give states and districts greater flexibility in how
they spend a portion of their federal allotments.
Given its scope and detail, the No Child Left Behind Act has been the
source of considerable controversy and debate in the education community.
Much criticism has centered on the law's high-profile testing requirements,
which many feel are overly broad and restrictive (Karp, 2002). Supporters
say the law's outcomes-based approach is just what is needed to spur
improvement in schools (Achieve, 2001).
As the provisions in the law go into effect, meanwhile, education
officials and advocates have grown increasingly concerned about the
details—and challenges—of implementation. One theme of policy discussions
has been apprehension about the heavy technical demands placed on states. A
January 2003 report from the Center for Education Policy, for example, sites
concern among state leaders about the "prescriptive nature of the
requirements" under the law, suggesting that the states need greater
flexibility to absorb the changes into their own systems. Echoing other
observers, CEP report also questions whether funding for the law is
commensurate with its magnitude, particularly at a time when many states are
in fiscal crisis (Center on Educational Policy, 2003).
The Bush administration has defended its approach, maintaining that
funding for the No Child Left Behind Act is a priority and that the
Department of Education’s emphasis is on setting clear goals and holding
states accountable for meeting them.
In a
survey of the states conducted in late 2002, Education Week found
that the states were working hard to comply with the federal law, but had a
long way to go on some requirements. The survey found that the states were
progressing fastest on the testing and report card provisions, for example,
but were moving less surely on making systemic changes to meet the
requirements for adequate-yearly-progress and highly qualified teachers.
(See
charts.) The delays appear in part to be due to uncertainty about
regulatory specifics and integration with their own policies.
In January 2003, to help educators and policymakers gauge states'
progress on meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, the
Education Commission of the States launched an extensive
online database tracking state
policy efforts.
—Anthony Rebora
Sources
U.S. Department of Education,
"The Elementary and
Secondary Education Act as Reauthorized by the 'No Child Left Behind Act' of
2001," full text, 2002. See also an
overview of
program changes.
Karp, S.,
"Let
Them Eat Tests,"
Rethinking Schools: An Urban Educational Journal (16) 4, Summer 2002.
Achieve
Inc,
"Statement on President Bush's Education Agenda," January 2001.
Center for on Education Policy,
"From the Capitol to the Classroom: State and Federal Efforts to Implement
the No Child Left Behind Act," January 2003. (Requires
Adobe's
Acrobat Reader.) A
summary
is also available.
Education Commission of the States,
"No Child Left Behind Database,"
2003.
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