The No Child Left Behind Act, passed by Congress in 2001 and signed by President George W. Bush on 8 January 2002, reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act around standards-based reform. It required annual standardized testing in reading and mathematics, public reporting, and accountability for adequate yearly progress toward universal proficiency, with escalating consequences for schools that missed targets. Its rigid accountability design drew sustained criticism, and it was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act on 10 December 2015.
Facts
Key ProvisionRequired annual state testing in reading and math and held schools accountable for adequate yearly progress toward one hundred percent proficiency, with escalating consequences for failure. 2 Enacted / Adopted YearPassed by Congress in December 2001 and conventionally cited as the 2001 act; signed into law 8 January 2002. Classification
Policy TypeGovernance or Accountability Policy 1 Education LevelUpper Secondary Education (ISCED 3) 2 Policy Status
Policy Status (category) FAQs
Did the No Child Left Behind Act set national achievement standards?
No. Each state developed its own standards.
No. The act did not set national achievement standards, and each state developed its own standards. What it did was expand the federal role in public education through further emphasis on annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards and teacher qualifications, along with significant changes in funding.
Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source No Child Left Behind Act (Wikipedia)
NCLB is a reauthorization of ESEA, not a separate statute.
Source Wikipedia
ESSA repealed and replaced NCLB on 10 December 2015; both are reauthorizations of ESEA.
Source U.S. Department of Education
Informed By
NCLB descends from the standards-and-accountability movement A Nation at Risk launched.
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source A Nation at Risk (Wikipedia)A Nation at Risk article, legacy section
Superseded By
ESSA (2015) replaced NCLB (2002) as the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Source U.S. Department of Education
Sources
1. U.S. Government Publishing Office: Public Law 107-110, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
U.S. Government Publishing OfficeLong titleQuote, Long title
To close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind.
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationNo Child Left Behind Act article, Legislative history section
The No Child Left Behind Act was billed as a successor to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which had been signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.
No Child Left Behind Act article, accountability provisions
Schools must pass yearly tests that judge student improvement over the fiscal year.
Description, education-level classification
Bush on 8 January 2002, reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act around standards-based reform.
Associated With: Elementary and Secondary Education Act, No Child Left Behind Act article, ESEA reauthorization statement
The No Child Left Behind Act was billed as a successor to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which had been signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.
In Category: Curriculum, Assessment and Policy, No Child Left Behind Act article
The No Child Left Behind Act was billed as a successor to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which had been signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.
Associated With: Standardized Testing, No Child Left Behind Act article, Provisions of the act section
To achieve these goals, the NCLB Act required all federally funded public schools to administer a standardized test annually to students in selected grades.
Associated With: School Choice, No Child Left Behind Act article, School choice subsection
If a school failed to meet AYP targets two or more years running, the school was mandated to offer eligible children the chance to transfer to higher-performing local schools, receive free tutoring, or attend after-school programs.
View the Source 3. No Child Left Behind Act (Wikipedia)
Lead section
After more than a decade, bipartisan criticism had increased so much that a bipartisan Congress stripped away some features of NCLB and turned the rest over to state governments in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act.
No Child Left Behind Act article, lead section
mandated standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education
- Associated With: Bilingual Education Act of 1968
View the SourceU.S. Department of Education
Associated With: Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA page, replacement of NCLB
The previous version of the law, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, was enacted in 2002.
Superseded By: Every Student Succeeds Act, What is the Every Student Succeeds Act, ESEA page
ESSA was signed into law in 2015 and replaced the previous education law called "No Child Left Behind."
View the SourceA Nation at Risk (Wikipedia)
Informed By: A Nation at Risk, A Nation at Risk article, legacy sectionQuote, Informed By: A Nation at Risk, A Nation at Risk article, legacy section
the 1983 report of the United States National Commission on Excellence in Education
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