No Child Left Behind Act

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the version of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act in place from 2002 to 2015. It was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Explainer

No Child Left Behind: An Overview
A primer on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Its successor, the Every Student Succeeds Act, replaced NCLB in Dec. 2015.
Kindergarten teacher Jamie Landahl guides her students in a read-aloud activity at Ruby Duncan Elementary School in Las Vegas.
Kindergarten teacher Jamie Landahl guides her students in a read-aloud activity at Ruby Duncan Elementary School in Las Vegas.
Tiffany Brown Anderson/Redux for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Loosens Reins on Teacher Evaluations, Qualifications
The Every Student Succeeds Act could embolden some states to revise or abandon their current methods for rating teachers.
Stephen Sawchuk, January 5, 2016
8 min read
The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 10. The latest revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it aims to scale back the hands-on federal role in K-12 education and enhance the authority of states and districts.
The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 10. The latest revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it aims to scale back the hands-on federal role in K-12 education and enhance the authority of states and districts.
Evan Vucci/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act Under ESSA, States, Districts to Share More Power
The Every Student Succeeds Act, the latest version of the nation’s main K-12 law, aims to scale back the hands-on federal role in elementary and secondary education.
Alyson Klein, January 5, 2016
7 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Law Broadens Definition of School Success
The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to measure at least one nonacademic factor, such as student engagement, when tracking schools' performance.
Evie Blad, January 5, 2016
7 min read
In this 2014 file photo, the California State Assembly meets for an organizational session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Among other things, legislators in the state will be looking for ways to tackle teacher shortages.
In this 2014 file photo, the California State Assembly meets for an organizational session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Among other things, legislators in the state will be looking for ways to tackle teacher shortages.
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File
Every Student Succeeds Act New K-12 Law Adds to Buzz as Legislatures Set to Convene
State lawmakers around the country will be looking closely at how new flexibility for states under the Every Student Succeeds Act will play out on a key range of issues in their backyards.
Daarel Burnette II, January 5, 2016
7 min read
School & District Management Highlighting No Child Left Behind Act-Era Research
Education researchers have tracked a flood of changes that swept through states under the 2002 revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, offering a mixed picture.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 30, 2015
6 min read
Students arrive at Burncoat Preparatory School in Worcester, Mass. Burncoat was one of four low-performing schools to take part in the state’s intensive turnaround program and has now exited that process.
Students arrive at Burncoat Preparatory School in Worcester, Mass. Burncoat was one of four low-performing schools to take part in the state’s intensive turnaround program and has now exited that process.
Swikar Patel/Education Week
Federal Path to School Accountability Taking Bold New Turns
With the hands-on federal role in education policy set to scale back, states and districts examine ways to step up with their own approaches.
Alyson Klein, December 30, 2015
8 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Ed. Dept. to States: Even Under ESSA, You Need a Plan for High Opt-Out Rates
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to states, warning that they need to be prepared to handle their testing opt-outs in 2015-16.
Alyson Klein, December 22, 2015
3 min read
Federal Ed. Department Puts Massachusetts Title I Funds on 'High Risk' Status
The department said the state must show that it is administering the same test statewide to students in grades 3-8 and high school by May 31, 2016, or else potentially lose a portion of the state's Title I funds.
Andrew Ujifusa, December 22, 2015
2 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA's Flexibility on Assessment Elicits Qualms From Testing Experts
The Every Student Succeeds Act allows states and districts to cobble scores from interim assessments into a single, summative score, but some experts worry that will make the results less valid.
Catherine Gewertz, December 18, 2015
5 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Alexander: Federal Role on K-12 Will Be 'Very Different' Under ESSA
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. says at least three major oversight hearings already are being planned on the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Alyson Klein, December 17, 2015
4 min read
President Barack Obama, flanked by Senate education committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, and the committee's ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., signs the Every Student Succeeds Act on Dec. 10, 2015.
President Barack Obama, flanked by Senate education committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, and the committee's ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., signs the Every Student Succeeds Act on Dec. 10, 2015.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Every Student Succeeds Act How Far Should the Education Department Go in Regulating on ESSA?
The civil rights community and district advocates have pretty different ideas about what the prohibitions on secretarial authority mean in the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Alyson Klein, December 16, 2015
4 min read
Federal Opinion ESSA Cements the K-12 Obama-Duncan Legacy
ESSA is not a federal intervention "smack down," writes Joanne Weiss, former chief of staff to Arne Duncan.
Joanne Weiss, December 10, 2015
6 min read
President Barack Obama, flanked by Senate education committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, and the committee's ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., signs the Every Student Succeeds Act on Dec. 10, 2015.
President Barack Obama, flanked by Senate education committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, and the committee's ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., signs the Every Student Succeeds Act on Dec. 10, 2015.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Every Student Succeeds Act President Signs ESEA Rewrite, Giving States, Districts Bigger Say on Policy
The Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, puts states and districts back at the wheel on teacher evaluation, standards, school turnarounds, and accountability.
Alyson Klein, December 10, 2015
6 min read
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., walk to the chamber as the House votes on a rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that aims to roll back the federal role in K-12 education and to return much authority to the states.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., walk to the chamber as the House votes on a rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that aims to roll back the federal role in K-12 education and to return much authority to the states.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act House Approval of ESEA Overhaul a Bipartisan Move
The bill approved by a 359-64 margin would scale back the federal role in education for the first time since the early 1980s.
Alyson Klein, December 8, 2015
3 min read