No Child Left Behind: Elementary and Secondary Education Act 2001
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INTRODUCTION - A brief overview of NCLB written by Patricia A. Petracco, Former Senior Associate Director, Policy and Library Resources, May 2002
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act ( ESEA) is the primary federal law that provides funds for the nation's K-12 education system. Originally passed in 1965, the law must be reauthorized by Congress every five years. The recent reauthorization of the ESEA, known as the Leave No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law January 8, 2002, extends the federal role in education delivery and impacts all local school districts.
While the new law offers additional federal dollars aimed at improving school quality and student performance, it poses enormous challenges for states and local school districts to meet new federal requirements in the following areas:
Accountability and Assessment - States must create academic standards in the areas of math, reading and science and assess every student's progress toward those standards using tests that are aligned with the standards. Beginning in the 2002-2003 school year, schools must administer tests in each of three grade spans: grades 3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 10-12. In subsequent years annual testing will be required. In addition, states and districts will be expected to participate in the 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics sections of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to be paid for with federal funds. Results from the NAEP will be used to make a national comparison of state assessments.
In an effort to provide accountability for results, the federal legislation puts in place new requirements for state and district report cards that include student achievement data for individual schools and districts.
Reading/Literacy - States, local school districts, and early childhood development centers will be eligible for grants through the Reading First and Early Reading First programs to promote literacy and reading skills. Building on a foundation of research on effective reading instruction, ESEA provides for professional development for teachers using scientific reading methods and ongoing student screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based tests. These early reading programs will focus on instruction that addresses five key components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Teaching Quality - Every state must ensure that every classroom has a "highly qualified" teacher by the 2005-06 school year. Requirements regarding the certification status of teachers are set forth in ESEA 2001. Paraprofessionals hired with Title I funds are expected to complete at least two years of college, obtain an associate's or higher degree, or be able to demonstrate a standard of quality through a formal state or local assessment.
The law also seeks to improve teacher quality by supporting alternative route certification and active teacher recruitment, merit pay, bonuses for teachers in high-need subject areas like math and science, and innovative professional development for teachers, principals and paraprofessionals.
School Choice and Innovative Programs -Parents will have more choices among schools for their children. Millions of federal dollars will be available to states and local communities to help establish charter schools. Parents with a child enrolled in a failing school will be able to transfer the child to a better performing public school or public charter school and funds will be available for tutoring, after school services, and summer school programs.
Consolidation and Flexibility of Federal Programs - Local communities and school districts will have greater flexibility in using federal funds. The law provides states and local communities with the option of combining federal resources to pursue their own strategies for raising student achievement and provides for 150 local flexibility demonstration programs, where school districts will be allowed to consolidate nearly all of their federal funding in exchange for entering into performance agreements with the state and federal governments. Rural schools will also have more flexibility in how they spend federal funds on priorities that are unique to those communities.
Many of the implications for states and local schools regarding implementation of the new ESEA remain unclear while the final regulations are being drafted. In the meantime, a great deal of discussion has ensued about some controversial elements of the new law. The resources listed here are provided to keep you informed about questions regarding the ESEA, relevant definitions, and new developments as they occur.
© New Jersey School Boards Association 2002. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.