The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
President Bush signed The No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 as part of his educational reform plan. The plan includes four key principles: stronger accountability towards schools for performance results; expanded flexibility and local control; expanded options for parents and students; and emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work. The NCLB Act basically supports a system of challenging state standards in the core subjects of reading and mathematics for students from the third grade to the eighth grade level. Schools then submit annual reports on the results from student test scores, thus allowing the government and parents to examine the performance and quality of those schools.
According to the No Children Left Behind web site, " Since the elementary and Secondary Education Act first passed congress in 1965, the federal government has spent more than 321 billion (in 2002 dollars) to help educate disadvantaged children. Yet nearly 40 years later, only 32 percent of fourth-graders can read skillfully at grade level." The NCLB Act is an important issue because it is an answer to help remedy the problem of poor performance of today's children in school. In 1969 congress passed an education reform act called the Elementary and Secondary Educational Act. The ESEA is still in effect; however, the NCLB Act is an extension to help effectively carry out the intentions to improve the quality of education.
Basically, the group's intent is to define what the No Child Left Behind Act is and identify its implications. Further research will show if the initial intentions of the act are proceeding as planned so far. Lastly, there will be some investigation to whether the participating schools are keeping up with their end of the bargain, and most importantly, if the government is adhering to its promises.