The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act

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In 2001 Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Key components are increased accountability for states, school districts, and schools; greater choice for parents and students; and greater flexibility for states, school districts, and schools. To receive federal funds designated for poor and underperforming schools, states had to submit a continuous growth plan based on standards for that state. The biggest challenge has been to maintain the required growth, called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), across all significant subgroups within a school or district. The subgroups may be identified by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, special needs, or as English learners. Although the intent was to highlight the achievement discrepancies in order to address them, the lack of resources and verifiable strategies has not brought about the desired improvements in the required time.

In addition, all states were required to participate in National Assessment of Educational Progress as a means of having cross-state comparisons. There is some evidence of continued growth, though not at the required pace and among all subgroups. Some even believe progress has been dampened since the enactment in 2002 of the federal NCLB law. Bainbridge (2005) makes these statements:

• Math performance did not increase at a faster rate than in the previous decade.
  Math performance for black and Hispanic students has not continued to increase at the previous rate.

Discussion of this legislation and its relationship to mathematics achievement is likely to continue.