No Child Left Behind Act

Justin Prejsnar
Soc 301
3/9/11
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a milestone in education improvement, designed to improve student achievement and change the culture of America’s schools. The new act encourages responsibility and helps do away with inequality in education system.   The ultimate goal was to ensure that all students will be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. The National Assessment of Educational Progress tests students from time to time to investigate performance.   As one of the provisions, states are required to create tests and administer them annually to students, measuring their “adequate yearly progress” toward meeting state standards. Schools that do not meet the mark fall short under the federal law.   After two years of failing to meet the standards, schools must offer students the opportunity to transfer to a school that is not failing, with paid transportation.   After three years, the schools must offer private tutoring.   Those schools missing the requirements for a continuous five years face closing and new management.
To establish the Act, states and local school districts are theoretically getting $23.7 billion dollars.   For federal education dollars, the government requires that states place highly qualified teachers in every classroom to close the achievement gap between the rich and poor students.   As an attempt to meet these goals, the No Child Left Behind Act provides for better information for teachers and principals, more information presented to parents, and skilled teachers.   Annual tests will provide teachers the opportunity to determine their children’s’ weaknesses and strengths; therefore they create lessons that will have each child meet standards.   Each state must have an assessment that is correlated with the state academic content and achievement standards.   Therefore, parents are provided... [continues]

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