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No Child Left Behind Legislation

Passed with bipartisan support and signed into law on January 8, 2002, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, constitutes a massive attempt by the federal government to exert its power over the reform of elementary and secondary education in the U.S (Ritter and Lucas 54). Based on its goal of "ensuring that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education" (NCLB, 2001, qtd. in Simpson, LaCava and Graner 67), the NCLB utilizes high-stakes assessments to determine whether students have achieved annual yearly progress according to the rigorous standards erected by individual states. While schools that fulfill the criteria of success in accordance with the NCLB guidelines are rewarded with public recognition and financial resources, their counterparts who fail to meet the criteria of success are sanctioned and risk being taken over by the state. The monumental nature of this legislation lies in the fact that the federal government has expanded its role in education - traditionally the domain of State and local governments - by exercising its power through the use of discretionary funds (Simpson et al. 67).

In the remainder of this paper, the primary themes of the NCLB legislation will be presented and discussed. The initial reactions of the various legislators and educators to the NCLB will also be highlighted and explored. The outcome of the NCLB, particularly in terms of its objective of improving the academic achievement of all students, will be considered. Finally, speculations on the future of the NCLB will be presented.

In this section, the primary themes of the NCLB legislation are described individually.

Increasing Accountability of States, School Districts and Schools through Standardized Testing

To enable parents, the general public and educators to assess the performance of schools in an objective fashion, states are required to identify "adequate yearl...

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No Child Left Behind Legislation. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:41, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687640.html