No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
General Information
- Federal legislation that enacts the theories of standards-based education reform
- based on the belief that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education
- Requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades to receive federal funding for schools
- Does not assert a national achievement standard; standards are set by each individual state
- The most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965
- Goal is to “level the playing field” in education
- Sets minimum standards for paraprofessionals, including those who assist students with special needs
School Information
- Requires that the schools distribute personal information of every student enrolled to military recruiters and institutions of higher education, unless the student opts out
- Schools which receive Title I funding must make “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) in test scores (ex. each year, its fifth graders must do better on standardized tests than the previous years)
- Requires that schools disaggregate the annual progress of individual subgroups of students, including all racial and ethnic groups, as well as students with disabilities and English language learners
- Requires that all state education agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) provide a proposal for annually boosting the percentage of teachers of core content areas who are deemed “highly qualified” under the law
- Highly qualified – hold at least a bachelor’s degree, be fully certified by the state or pass a state teacher-licensing examination, and demonstrate subject-matter competency
- Assessments must:
- Be the same for all students
- Be designed to be valid and accessible for the most students possible including those with disabilities and English language learners
- Those students with the most significant cognitive disabilities may take alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards as determined by IEP team and state
- Be aligned with state standards
- Be reliable
- Be supported by evidence
- Be administered according to law’s time line
- Involved multiple measures of student achievement
- Objectively measure academic achievement, knowledge and skills without assessing personal information
- Provide for the participation of all students in all grades being assessed
- Produce reports that disaggregate data on student subgroups, including students with disabilities
- Enable itemized score analyses to be reported to districts & schools
Violation Information
- If a Title I school fails to meet AYP for two years, it’s put on a list of "failing schools" published in the local paper and parents are given the option to transfer to another school. If it does not meet AYP for a third year, then it must provide supplemental services for its low-income students
- Supplemental services – service that are:
- in addition to normal daily instruction
- designed to boost students’ learning and proficiency in areas covered by state assessments
- high quality and research-based
