The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)

FYI………..

 

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act levied the following requirements on the states. 

In the 2005-2006 school year states were required to test “all students in reading (English language arts) and mathematics in grades 3 through 8, plus one higher grade” (Kahl, 2003, p.1).  Prior to the 2005-2006 school year, the states had a requirement levied by the 1994 Title I legislation.  They were required to tests students in reading and mathematics “in three grades:  one elementary grade (3, 4, or 5), one middle grade (6, 7, 8 or 9), and one higher grade…By 2006-2007, science must be assessed in three grades within the same grade ranges” (Kahl, 2003, p.1).  The NCLB Act also required adequate yearly progress for the individual schools within districts and the subgroups within the schools.  The requirement resulted in a significant number of schools being designated as needing improvement.  The designation resulted in the migration of students from the schools with that label.  The ultimate goal of NCLB is for the states to meet one hundred percent proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year.  Kahl (2003) questioned whether one hundred percent proficiency by all subgroups is a realistic goal.  Popham (2008) notes that the NCLB act and the “reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) first passed by Congress in 1965, contains a series of significant test-based accountability provisions” (Popham, 2008, p. 2).  Popham (2008) further notes that the NCLB act more than doubled the testing requirements in reauthorized ESEA.