-
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Signed Into Law
In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the original Every Student Succeeds Act, called the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which put full educational opportunity at the forefront of national goals. ESEA offered new grants to low-income students, federal grants for materials, funding for special education centers, and scholarships for low-income students. Additionally, it offered federal grants to state educational agencies to improve elementary and secondary education. -
No Child Left Behind Act Signed Into Law
The No Child Left Behind Act was passed in Jaunary 2002 by President George W. Bush. The policy aimed to create a system of accountability and promote higher quality public education for students of disadvantaged backgrounds. While the policy itself aimed to improve learning and increase accountability for student success, its rigid structure sometimes unfairly labeled schools as failing, and its requirement for standardized testing has led teachers to "teach to the test" narrowing curricula. -
Connecticut Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Department of Education
In Aug. 2005, the Connecticut Attorney General filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the defendant “illegally imposed [millions] in unfunded mandates on Connecticut under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” (Coleman, 2006). In Dec. 2005, the USDOE responded to the complaint with a motion to dismiss supported by the NAACP showing a disagreement between the state of Connecticut and the USDOE in the understanding of the “unfunded mandates” provision (Coleman, 2006). -
U.S. Representative George Miller Unveils First Major Comprehensive NCLB Reauthorized Draft Bill
In 2007, (No Child Left Behind Act, n.d.) U.S. Representative George Miller unveils the first major comprehensive NCLB reauthorized draft bill. Strongly believing that reading and math should be the center of the NCLB, Miller included the Reading First Act that would alter the bill’s accountability and rules of the law. -
Obama Administration Sends a Blueprint for Reform to Congress
In March 2010, the Obama administration sends Congress a Blueprint for Reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) addressing issues in No Child Left Behind highlighting the need to close achievement gaps. Under the blueprint, schools set a high bar for students to graduate high school, and underperforming schools are rewarded when showing improvement in students’ success. The blueprint requests measures to evaluate faculty effectiveness and raises the bar for educators. -
Obama Administration Grants Flexibility to states
In 2012, (Slack, 2012) the Obama administration announced that ten states that agreed to implement bold education reforms receive waivers from the burdensome mandates of the NCLB Act of 2002. They allow states to draft their own ambitious but attainable terms to close achievement gaps and ensure students are proficient in reading and math rather than meeting the NCLB’s terms allowing states their own methods to improve low performing schools, not relying on a single all approach created by NCLB. -
The Original Goal of No Child Left Behind
(Turner, 2015) Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools were judged yearly on an Adequate Yearly Progress report. The goal was to get all children at grade-level reading and math by 2014, a goal that infuriated many teachers and school officials because it placed all schools on the same timeline. The policy also required schools to break down their data into many small groups based on demographic, and if one subgroup was underperforming, the whole school was marked as underperforming. -
No Child Left Behind Act Replaced by Every Student Succeeds Act
On December 10, 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law by President Obama. The bipartisan measure reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Unlike NCLB requiring states to have a universal system of accountability, the ESSA allowed states to develop systems of accountability. Although NCLB required labels for low performing schools, the ESSA didn't. The ESSA requires meaningful stakeholders to be involved, such as counselors, parents, and social workers. -
COVID-19 Pandemic Sees Brief Increase in Federal Funding
In 2020, the country locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, (Wood & Rose, 2022) the federal government spent nearly $260 million on research and development in education, but only $50 million was spent on development that schools could use. As schools went online, standardized tests were the last care of schools. When students returned to school in 2022, schools needed a solution to learning losses as much of the work done to close achievement gaps of the past two decades was lost. -
Opinion: “More Pandemic Fallout: The Chronically Absent Student”
(Petrilli, 2023) The education system and leadership needs leaders willing to raise awareness about getting the education system back on track. Educational goals have been moving in the wrong direction, and leaders have been silent about the chronic lack of accountability in American education systems. This doesn’t mean bringing back the No Child Left Behind Act though.
More Pandemic Fallout: The Chronically Absent Student