Overview of No Child Left Behind Legislation

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was signed into law by President Bush in January of 2002. The new law contains significant changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was first enacted in 1965. The purpose of the law is to ensure that all children are able to meet the learning standards of the state in which they live. The specific goals of NCLB are:

• All students will reach high standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading and mathematics by 2013-2014
• By 2013-2014, all students will be proficient in reading by the end of the third grade
• All limited English proficient students will become proficient in English
• By 2005-2006, all students will be taught by highly qualified teachers
• All students will be educated in learning environments that are safe, drug free and conducive to learning
• All students will graduate from high school

The NCLB Act requires states to implement a system of yearly assessments in math, reading and by the 2007-2008 school year, science. At the high school level in Illinois, all students are required to take the Prairie State Achievement Examination in grade 11 as part of NCLB. Each state is required to establish statewide progress objectives on its assessment ensuring that all groups of students reach proficiency within 12 years. Assessment results and statewide progress objectives must be broken out by poverty, ethnicity, disability and limited English proficiency. School districts and schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward statewide proficiency goals will, over time, be subject to improvement, corrective action, and restructuring measures aimed at helping them to meet state standards.