Fith Anniversary for No Child Left Behind Landmark Legislation has Changed Landscape of American Education

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the bipartisan legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, to reform America's public schools. The law is based on four principles:

1. stronger accountability for results;
   
2. greater flexibility for states and communities;
   
3. proven education methods; and
   
4. more choices for parents.

"At its heart, [NCLB] was intended to help teachers help students reach their potential," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings at a national summit on the law held last April.

Ultimately, NCLB set a historic goal for the country: every child reading and doing math at grade level by 2014. Schools are held accountable for students achieving annual progress toward proficiency in those subjects based on state standards. Performance is measured in grades 3-8 and once in high school by state assessments that must be reported by income level, race and ethnicity, disability and limited English proficiency to ensure that no child falls through the cracks.

Since its enactment, test results have shown that the law is working. "The achievement gap that has persisted for decades in the younger years between minorities and whites has shrunk to its smallest size in history," said Spellings. The most recent Nation's Report Card also revealed that America's fourth-graders posted the best scores in reading and math in the history of the 30-plus-year-old report, while eighth-graders earned the highest math scores ever.

Among its efforts for improving student achievement, NCLB has introduced free tutoring for children from low-income families in persistently underperforming schools, the Reading First program to boost literacy skills in the early grades, and grants to improve teacher quality. In addition, federal funding for it has increased by 34 percent over the life of the law—from $17 billion in 2001 to $23 billion in 2006.

The No Child Left Behind Act is due to be reauthorized this year. President Bush has pledged to work with Congress to ensure that the accountability measures that have led to academic gains as well as the nation's commitment to NCLB's 2014 goal remain in tact.

For more information about the No Child Left Behind Act, visit www.ed.gov/nclb/.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, The Achiever, [January 2006].