The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a groundbreaking piece of
legislation signed by George W. Bush that officially marked a United
States Act of Congress to preside over the American education system.
The No Child Left Behind Act supports the universal standards-based
education reform, which was created on the belief that setting high
standards and establishing goals can directly improve a school system
and an individual’s academic endeavor.
The No Child Left
Behind Act requires individual states to develop evaluations or
assessments in the underlying school’s basic framework. This system
gives all students certain grades, which are aligned with other schools
in the state to observe the effectiveness of the particular school’s
curriculum. These grades are then reviewed by Congress who will decide
which localities are in line for Federal funding. In essence, the
legislation created an evaluation system to streamline Federal funding
and enable Congress to view which methods of educational reform work
best.
The No Child Left Behind Act does not assert these
standards on a national level and instead relies on the states to
create their own unique platforms. Since the enactment of this Act, Congress has
increased Federal funding for education from $42.2 billion (2001 level)
to over $60 billion in 2009.
