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The problem of underachievement in public schooling has long been an issue of concern. In 1965 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act became law which focused funding based on the number of disadvantaged students in a local school district, not necessarily proficiency data. Standards-based reform was initiated in 1994 when President Clinton reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act with the Improving America's Schools Act. It was then that the problem was defined as a low achievement across all children, but also did specify economically disadvantaged and English limited children--not racial differences. Once standard based testing came about, observable signs became apparent of racial, economic, and disadvantaged student differences in proficiency testing. This led to the reforms that we now see in the No Child Left Behind Act.

Potential causes of the achievement gap, as defined by "No Child Left Behind", are due to past limited accountability of how the States and districts previously handled and defined schools that were not making adequate yearly progress, teachers that are not highly qualified as defined by the State, limited flexibility of how education funds are to be designated, limited ability to transfer out of a low-performing school, and standardized testing that included all the populations represented. Consequences of underachievement can include unemployability which directly impacts economic growth. The average unemployment rate for high school dropouts in 2003 was more than 1.5 times higher than the unemployment rate for people with just high school diplomas.

The existence of this discrepancy of achievement puts the minority racial groups, economically disadvantaged students, students who are not proficient in the English language, and physically disadvantaged students at a disadvantage. These groups are at a higher risk of dropping out of high school and therefore are at risk for unemployment. Unemployment has consequences in itself, such as dependency on state aid. Even if these groups graduate, the preparation received in the areas of math, science, and reading is more likely to be inadequate as opposed to their non-minority counterparts. In my opinion, there are no gainers due to the existence of this problem. Non-minority students are already thriving in their performance, but this is not based on the fact that other students are failing.

In general, No Child Left Behind policy addresses this problem by requiring states to administer annual assessments of English and Math to students in grade 3-8 in addition to one high school grade. In 2007 the addition of a science assessment will be implemented. Adequate yearly progress is determined by a percentage of all students, and students within a subgroup, meet a certain predetermined percent of proficiency. Also 95% of students within each subgroup must be tested. This contrasts to the ESEA because it did not mandate how a State defines what exactly adequate yearly progress means. This brings about inconsistency, and can lead to schools not being assessed as needing improvement. Also, if a school was determined to not be making adequate yearly progress, the States only had a suggested list of corrective action, whereas the NCLB took these suggestions and made to be what must be done. Options of corrective action include withholding funds, replacing personnel, removing one or more schools from a districts jurisdiction, abolishing the district, authorizing students to transfer to another district.

The goal of the No Child Left Behind is to ensure that within 12 years of the 2001-2002 school year end, all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education regardless of race, socioeconomic status, English speaking ability, or physical abilities. All students are to at least attain a minimum proficiency on State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. The objectives are therefore:

(1) Ensuring that high-quality academic assessments, accountability systems, teacher preparation and training, curriculum, and instructional materials are aligned with challenging State academic standards so that students, teachers, parents, and administrators can measure progress against common expectations for student academic achievement;

(2) Meeting the educational needs of low-achieving children in our Nation's highest-poverty schools, limited English proficient children, migratory children, children with disabilities, Indian children, neglected or delinquent children, and young children in need of reading assistance;

(3) Closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers;

(4) Holding schools, local educational agencies, and States accountable for improving the academic achievement of all students, and identifying and turning around low-performing schools that have failed to provide a high-quality education to their students, while providing alternatives to students in such schools to enable the students to receive a high-quality education;

(5) Distributing and targeting resources sufficiently to make a difference to local educational agencies and schools where needs are greatest;

(6) Improving and strengthening accountability, teaching, and learning by using State assessment systems designed to ensure that students are meeting challenging State academic achievement and content standards and increasing achievement overall, but especially for the disadvantaged;

(7) Providing greater decision making authority and flexibility to schools and teachers in exchange for greater responsibility for student performance;

(8) Providing children an enriched and accelerated educational program, including the use of school-wide programs or additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;

(9) Promoting school-wide reform and ensuring the access of children to effective, scientifically based instructional strategies and challenging academic content;

(10) Significantly elevating the quality of instruction by providing staff in participating schools with substantial opportunities for professional development;

(11) Coordinating services under all parts of this title with each other, with other educational services, and, to the extent feasible, with other agencies providing services to youth, children, and families; and

(12) Affording parents substantial and meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children.

Strategies for achieving the goals and objectives include the following:

1) Funding: No Child Left Behind gives school districts more money.

2) Flexibility: No Child Left Behind gives states and school districts more control and more flexibility to use resources where they are needed most. Principals and administrators will spend less time filling out forms.

3) School District Report Cards: No Child Left Behind gives parents report cards so they can see which schools in their district are succeeding and why. With this information, No Child Left Behind gives parents, community leaders, teachers, principals, and elected leaders the information they need to improve schools.

4) Public School Choice: No Child Left Behind may let you transfer your child to another public school if the state says that your child's school is "in need of improvement."

5) Extra Help with Learning: No Child Left Behind may also provide your child with free tutoring and extra help with schoolwork if the state says your child's school has been "in need of improvement" for at least 2 years. This extra help is often referred to as Supplemental Educational Services.

6) Parental Involvement: No Child Left Behind requires schools to develop ways to get parents more involved in their child's education and in improving the school.

7) Adding and math every year in grades 3-8. Your child will also be tested at least once in high school. The tests will help you, your child, and your child's teachers know how well your child is learning and when he or she needs extra help.

8) Scientifically Based Research: No Child Left Behind focuses on teaching methods that have been proven by research to work.

9) Reading First: No Child Left Behind provides more than one billion dollars a year to help children learn to read. Reading First is the part of No Child Left Behind that is dedicated to ensuring all children learn to read on grade level by the third grade. Reading First provides money to states and many school districts to support high quality reading programs based on the best scientific research.

10) Teacher Quality: No Child Left Behind provides funding to help teachers learn to be better teachers.

If a school is placed in improvement status for 2 years, the school must implement a research based curriculum and if after 3 years make governance changes. Also, for a teacher to be considered highly qualified a teacher must hold (by 2005-2006) a bachelor's degree, hold a certification or licensure to teach in the state of his or her employment, and have proven knowledge of the subjects he or she teaches6. Teachers have funding to receive through training, recruitment incentives, loan forgiveness, and tax relief to be able to meet these standards.

The very definition of the social problem that there are achievement gaps between non-minority students and those previously defined subgroups, directly correlates to the expressed goal of NCLB. NCLB states all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education regardless of race, socioeconomic status, English speaking ability, or physical abilities. Because the students must attain a minimum proficiency on State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments, or else incur corrective action, students will be able to close the achievement gap between these groups. The objectives laid out in this plan actually greatly exceed what I originally determined in my causal chain diagram. However, everything that I expressed such as teacher qualifications and standardized testing (measuring knowledge) is present in the objectives.

The goals and objectives of the NCLB are very equitable because they address the equality amongst all the groups of students, and actually trying to "level out the playing field". But are the objectives adequate? Indeed the NCLB has many provisions that seem to address every issue ignored from previous acts. I think there is a problem with its complexity however. I believe that instead of pressuring schools to make adequate yearly progress, that individual students make "adequate progress". If a student is not making progress then the school should take action to help that specific student. There are many student individual difference that must be taken into account and not subject a school to corrective action for. For instance, if a student just does not want to study or learn, then they will not be proficient. Should the school be punished as a result? I would say that instead the student should be given the services as mandated by the policy. But also, the NCLB is correct in its objective of having teachers being highly qualified and certified, which leads to less of a discrepancy between schools which is necessary. I believe that the NCLB has all the right ideas, but it just needs to expand it to allow the schools to look at a more individual level. . .

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