No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

• The NCLB Act of 2001 holds schools accountable for academic achievement.  All states must implement statewide accountability systems.  These systems will:
  • set academic standards in each content area for what students should know and be able to do;
  • gather specific, objective data through tests aligned with those standards;
  • use test data to identify strengths and weaknesses in the system;
  • report school condition and progress to parents and communities;
  • empower parents to take action based on school information;
  • celebrate schools that make real progress; and
  • direct changes in schools that need help.
• No Child Left Behind requires that information be released on states, school districts and schools through annual report cards on the following:
  • student academic achievement disaggregated by subgroup;
  • comparison of students at basic, proficient and advanced levels of academic achievement;
  • graduation rates;
  • professional qualifications of teachers;
  • percentages of students not tested; and
  • status if identified for school improvement.
• Because of No Child Left Behind...
  • Parents know their children’s strengths and weaknesses and how well schools are performing; they have other options and resources for helping their children if their schools are chronically in need of improvement.
  • Teachers have the training and resources they need for teaching effectively, using curricula that are grounded in scientifically based research; annual testing lets them know areas in which students need extra attention.
  • Principals have information they need to strengthen their schools’ weaknesses and to put into practice methods and strategies backed by sound, scientific research.
  • Superintendents are able to see which of their schools and principals are doing the best job and which need help to improve.
  • School boards are able to measure how their districts are doing and how their districts measure in relation to others across the state; they have more and better information on which to base decisions about priorities in their districts.
  • Chief state school officers know how the schools in their states and in other states are doing; they are better able to pinpoint where guidance and resources are needed.
  • Governors have a yearly report card on how their states’ schools are doing; they are able to highlight accomplishments of the best schools and target help to those schools that are in need of improvement.
  • Community leaders and volunteer groups have information they can use to rally their members in efforts to help children and schools that need the most help.
• The U.S. Department of Education in April, 2004 provided a three-page document [PDF 72KB] that is a policy summary of four new tools for implementing NCLB and a brief history of the NCLB Act of 2001.  The four policies apply to special education students, limited English proficient students, highly qualified teachers, and assessment participation rates.  The history page mentions "...the overwhelming bi-partisan support.  The final votes were 87-10 in the Senate, and 381-41 in the House...."
• The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on October 19, 2005 released the results of the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests for mathematics and reading.  The NCES Commissioner's extensive remarks compare the national results for 2005 with 2003: "... [For the fourth-grade results,] both mathematics and reading scores increased since 2003.... For grade 8, we see an increase in average mathematics scores, and a decrease in average reading scores...."  Additional information is in the October 20 Washington Post article "Test Scores Move Little in Math, Reading; Improvement Seems Slight Since No Child Left Behind" and the October 20 New York Times article "Bush Education Law Shows Mixed Results in First Test".

School Choice

• The Center for Education Reform (CER) website has an informative page on "School Choice" with links to recent news about related issues.

Charter Schools

• The US Charter Schools (USCS) website definition of charter schools: Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools of choice that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The "charter" establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success.
• The Center for Education Reform (CER) website states that as of April, 2005 there are approximately 3,400 charter schools operating in 40 states and the District of Columbia serving close to one million students.  Another 236 more schools are approved to open in 2005 or 2006.
• The National Charter School Clearinghouse (NCSC) website is funded through a grant by the United States Department of Education for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating research and funding information and technical assistance of national concern.

Other Education Reform Issues

• The Center for Education Reform (CER) website provides answers to frequently asked questions about school choice, private scholarship programs, tuition tax credits and deductions, charter schools, school financing, and local and state reform.
• CER also offers The School Reform Handbook, which CER describes as "the definitive guide to reforming your schools" ($9.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling).

Terminology

• The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) website includes "A Lexicon of Learning" glossary that (according to ASCD) "provides clear definitions of educational terms in everyday language."
• The ICAN Education Links page contains hyperlinks for abbreviations (e.g., ASCD) and organization names that are mentioned on other ICAN education pages.

Last modified: 04/07/2006

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