No Child Left Behind Implications

NCLB (No Child Left Behind aspires to have 100 percent of students in the United States achieve proficiency according to the academic standards set by their states by the year 2014 (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). At the core of the policy is a vision of promoting change through federal expectations for greater accountability from states and school districts. These expectations include accountability for adopting approaches that increase academic achievement for all students and eliminate achievement gaps between various racial, ethnic, and income groups (Jennings, 2002). Prior to NCLB, state accountability systems for schools and districts were based on overall averages, averages that could mask glaring achievement gaps between groups or blur improvement targets that often set lower goals for previously low achieving students. Under these systems, schools where the achievement of low-income students and students of color lagged far behind the achievement of their peers were deemed successful, as were low-achieving schools demonstrated minimal improvement. As a result,