| What is the No Child Left Behind Act?
 The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law
in 2002 and redefines the federal government’s role
in K-12 education. The law is based on four principles to
improve student achievement:
- Stronger accountability for student achievement.
- Concentrating resources on scientifically proven education
methods.
- More choices for parents when their child’s school
does not meet goals.
- Record flexibility for states and communities in the
use of federal funding.
 The Law Calls For:
- States and school districts to provide parents with timely,
easy to read report cards on school and district performance
levels.
- Parents to be notified of available options if their
child’s school is identified as persistently dangerous
or needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.
- Annual testing to measure student progress in reading
and math in grades 3-8 and at least once in 10-12.
- Highly qualified teachers with a state teaching certification,
bachelor’s degree, and demonstrated knowledge in
the subjects they teach.
- Consequences for schools that persistently fail to make
adequate yearly progress (AYP). AYP is the minimum
level of improvement that states, districts, and schools
must make toward achieving state academic standards.
- Each state, school district, and school will be expected
to make AYP toward meeting state standards. AYP will be
measured for all students and the results will be reported
for each subgroup: economically disadvantaged, racial and
ethnic minorities, disabled, and limited English proficient.
What Parents Should Know About NCLB
Choice and Supplemental Education Services: Under
NCLB, parents of children in a Title I school that has not
made AYP in reading/language arts or math for two consecutive
years may transfer them to another public or charter school
within their district. After three years of failing to make
AYP, the district must offer free supplemental services,
such as tutoring and after-school instruction. Title
I is a section of NCLB referring to programs aimed at America’s
most challenged students.
Parental Involvement: According
to the law, each district must have a parental involvement
plan and consult parents on its creation. Each parent must
receive a copy of this plan once it is adopted, and the plan
must contain specific actions for increasing parental involvement.
No
Child Left Behind Timeline |
2002
The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law
on January 8, 2002.
The law requires that states create standards for
math and reading. New Jersey currently has standards
in nine content areas, including math and language
arts literacy.
2002-2003
Schools must administer tests in literacy
and math that are aligned with the standards in each
of the three grade spans: 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12 in all
schools. New Jersey currently administers the New Jersey
Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) for students
in grades 3 and 4, along with the Grade Eight Proficiency
Assessment (GEPA) and the High School Proficiency Assessment
(HSPA).
All teachers hired to teach core academic standards
in Title I programs after the first day of school must
be highly qualified. Title I is a section of NCLB referring
to programs aimed at America’s most challenged
students. Title I reaches about 12.5 million students
enrolled in both public and private schools.
School choice is made available to students enrolled
in schools that have been identified as needing improvement
or persistently dangerous. The criteria for persistently
dangerous schools are created by individual states.
For New Jersey, criteria are based
on the number of violent incidents per school.
2005-2006
Standards must be developed for science. New
Jersey currently has standards for science.
Students in grades 3-8 must be tested in math and
literacy annually and at least once in grades 10-12.
States that receive Title II funding must develop
a plan to ensure that all teachers of all core subjects
are highly qualified by the end of the school year.
Title II is a section of NCLB providing federal funding
to states and districts for activities that will strengthen
teacher quality in all schools.
2007-2008
Students must be tested annually in science
at least once in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. |
Helpful Links:
The official
No Child Left Behind Web site from the United States Department
of Education. www.nclb.gov
The
State of New Jersey ’s Web page for NCLB information. http://www.state.nj.us/njded/grants/nclb/
The
NCLB page for the National Dissemination Center for Children
with Disabilities. The page contains an extensive listing
of information sources for NCLB. http://www.nichcy.org/resources/nclb.asp The
National Commission of the States (ECS) No Child Left Behind
Database. The site provides policymakers, staff, and the
public with a one-stop shop for learning the day-to-day status
of how state policies match up with NCLB requirements. (Most
appropriate for http://nclb.ecs.org/nclb/
The
NCLB information page from Education Week. It provides
an overview of the law, a discussion of the issues surrounding
its implementation, and an archive of relevant Education
Week articles. http://www.edweek.org/context/topics/issuespage.cfm?id=59
The
NCLB information page from the National Education Association
(NEA). http://www.nea.org/esea/
The
NCLB information page from The Education Trust, an independent
nonprofit organization whose mission is to make schools and
colleges work for all of the young people they serve. The
site offers NCLB fact sheets, as well as a “users’ guide” providing
user-friendly information on NCLB that parents and communities
can understand and use. http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/ESEA/ESEA%2BGeneral.htm
Frequently
asked questions on NCLB from the State of New Jersey Department
of Education. http://www.state.nj.us/njded/grants/nclb/faq.shtml Frequently
asked questions on NCLB from the U.S. House Committee on
Education and the Workforce. (For educators) http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/108th/education/nclb/nclbfaq.pdf
The
2002 NCLB school report card. For information on how to
interpret this information, click here: http://education.state.nj.us/rc/nclb02/nclb.html
For
a guide to reading the NCLB report card for NJ. http://education.state.nj.us/rc/nclb02/guide.htm Information
on school choice issues. http://www.psparents.net/school_choice.htm
An
overview of NCLB from greatschools.net. http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/nj/205/improve
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