An ESEA Primer

Here are highlights of the "No Child Left Behind" Act, the legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which President Bush was expected to sign into law this week.

Annual Testing: By the 2005-06 school year, states must begin administering annual, statewide assessments in reading and mathematics for grades 3-8. States may select and design their own assessments, but the tests must be aligned with state academic standards. By 2007-08, states must implement science assessments to be administered once during each of the three levels of K-12 education: elementary, middle, and high school. A sample of 4th and 8th graders in each state must participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and math every other year to provide a point of comparison for the state's results on its own tests.

Test results must include individual student scores and be reported by race, income, and other categories to measure not just overall trends, but also gaps between, and...