3 of 11

Write now Article Tools

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

During his campaign, Bush railed against the "soft bigotry of low expectations" to promote his school reform strategy, which is based on high stakes testing. Now in office, "Leave No Child Behind" is his motto put forth in a 28-page position paper on reshaping the role of the federal government in education. By focusing on the lowest performing schools and the racial dimensions of the achievement gap, Bush gives his education rhetoric an edge and an urgency it would otherwise lack. The President uses this "education" rhetoric to outline proposals for vouchers and high stakes standardized tests that would actually reinforce institutional racism in education. Despite all this, and with cooperation from the Democratic Party the Act passed.

On January 8, 2002, the President signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The new law personifies President Bush's education reform plan and it the most all encompassing reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, since its ratification in 1965. The design of the Act is to narrow the gap between the disadvantaged and the more advantaged children, while changing the cultural climate of the nation's schools. The law sets out to define each school's success in terms of student achievement. The law itself is based upon four principles: solid accountability, increased local control, extended parental options, and more importance placed on teaching methods that work. Here are some of the principles applied.

The first principle of responsibility for results entails the formation of standards in each state for what each child should know and learn in grades three through eight in the subjects of reading and math. With these new standards in place, students will be measured by progress and achievement with state tests that match the state standards that are given to every child, every year.

The Act will give more power to parents, educators, administrators, and lawmakers because of the data provided by the annual tests. This data will be available in annual reports in such categories as the performance of the child, the performance of the school, and the state's overall performance. Parents, in turn, will get information on the quality of their children's schools, the qualifications of their teachers, and the progress of their child. Teachers will get information on how each child is progressing, which will help identify which children need special attention and where they need

• 1
• 2
• 3
• ...
• 8
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Understanding the No Child Left Behind law?
We want to hear your view. Write now!