Child Left behind Act

Karen M. Staller

President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind (NCLB) into law on January 8, 2002, declaring a new era in U.S. public education. The legislation enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support in the post-September 11, 2001, context. Since then, support has eroded and the policy has been criticized on many fronts. While NCLB is revolutionary in some respects, it also contributes to a long history of attempts to address educational disparities evident in U.S. public schools. These disparities—also referred to as the “achievement gap”—show white and Asian students generally outperforming their African American and Latino/a counterparts and students from wealthier communities outperforming those from poorer ones. The root cause of this “gap” has been variously attributed to poverty, racism, discrimination, inequitable resource distribution, poorly managed schools, unqualified teachers, and low expectations. NCLB reauthorized and renamed legislation that had been in place since 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary and ...

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