No Child Left Behind Act was a United States law that regulated public education in elementary and secondary schools. Congress passed the act in 2001, and President George W. Bush signed it into law on Jan. 8, 2002. Sometimes referred to as NCLB, the act served to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Reauthorization is the reenactment of a law, often with significant updates or changes, so that its provisions will not expire.
The No Child Left Behind Act sought to improve student performance, hold schools accountable for student progress, and provide assistance and options for students in failing schools. One of its central features was a student testing program designed to identify schools that failed to meet basic educational standards. The act significantly expanded the role of the federal government in public education. The NCLB was due for reauthorization in 2007. However, Congress failed to agree on the terms of the act’s reauthorization.
The No Child Left Behind Act called for annual student testing in mathematics, reading, and science. If test scores for a particular school failed to show adequate improvement over several years, the school could be closed or its staff replaced. The law required schools to report their annual yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting educational goals. Under the law, the parents of students in failing schools could choose to transfer their children to other schools in the same school district. The law also sought to improve the quality of instruction by establishing strict federal requirements for teacher training.
The NCLB stirred controversy. Most educators and teachers’ organizations initially supported the goals of the act. But over time, the law’s requirements proved too difficult for schools and educators to meet. Some critics charged that the federal government had failed to provide adequate funding to carry out testing, provide extra tutoring, and meet other requirements of the law. Others claimed that too many schools were unfairly penalized for failing to meet requirements. In response, the U.S. secretary of education in 2008 allowed some states to ease penalties for schools that performed well overall but had low test scores for certain groups of students.
By 2014, 43 states and Washington, D.C., had been granted waivers. The waivers freed the schools in those states from meeting the 2014 deadline of NCLB requirements for math and reading performance. In return, the states agreed to adopt other measures to aid student and teacher performance. In December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaced NCLB.
