No Child Left Behind - Summary

No Child Left Behind - Summary

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reform was enacted to hold educational agencies and states accountable for improving the quality of education for all students. The reform was created to identify and transform low-performing schools that have failed to provide a high quality education to their students into successful, high-performing schools. The No Child Left Behind Act was to “ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments” (NCLB, 2002, section 1001). The targeted population being the Nations’ highest-poverty schools, neglected or delinquent children, migratory children, children with disabilities, Native American children, and young children in need of reading assistance. The goal was also to close the achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, as well as with advantaged and disadvantaged students. The goals were to be accomplished by improving accountability using state assessment systems that are designed to ensure that students are meeting state academic achievement and content standards (NCLB, 2002, section 1001).
Shortly after it’s inception, it was thought that the potential benefit of NCLB was in its recognition that all children can learn and have a right to be taught, and the idea that educators, parents and students should receive periodic assessments of how students are progressing toward high academic standards (Maleyko & Gawlik, 2011). NCLB has been criticized as being too broad or too insufficient to ensure results. The original act focuses too much on labeling schools based on test scores, rather than the causes of poor student achievement. Other criticisms include that NCLB created a false goal of proficiency that encouraged states to set low standards so their students could more easily meet the goals. Some praise the law’s accountability...

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