No Child Left Behind

What It Is

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 2001, widely known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), set standards for improved student performance nationwide. Though challenging, especially for states that had not developed an accountability system, the often-controversial act has been considered the federal government’s most far-reaching education bill in nearly 4 decades, since the first ESEA was drafted and authorized during the Johnson administration.

Why It Matters

States must meet the requirements of NCLB or face federal sanctions. NCLB has been challenging to many states for many reasons, however. Some states had no accountability system in place when NCLB was passed; other states faced replacing norm-referenced tests with criterion-referenced tests; and still other states faced considerable financial and time barriers to meeting the act’s guidelines. Nevertheless, NCLB has provided a framework for increasing student achievement and parent involvement and has forced everyone to consider subgroups of students whose needs were not being met in the classroom. It has also highlighted the need for quality teachers and instituted reporting procedures to help the parents and the public see how their schools are performing.

What We Do

SEDL works with state departments of education to help them assist their schools and districts in meeting the requirements of NCLB. We work with states to determine their needs and provide resources and professional development tailored to those needs. Our assistance ranges from helping states build leadership capacity in schools and districts to providing basic training on key NCLB goals.