No Child Left Behind, Teaching Kids with Different Racial and Social Classes to Participate in Class in the Public School Systems

Introduction

The No Child Left behind Act (NCLB, 2002) became law in 2001 and received unanimous bipartisan support in the U. S. Congress. Congress and the President were sold on the idea that every child can learn and that public schools should be held accountable for student learning. Since its inception, this Act has been called the most important education legislation of this generation. The aim of researchers has been to clarify the consequences of this Act with some examining the effect that state accountability designs have on the percent of public schools making progress, while other researchers have gone so far as to question the Acts long-term cost; goals; and politics. Some have suggested that the goal of the No Child Left behind Act is to showcase the failure of public education so that school privatization through vouchers can be instituted, while others believe that the Act can fix the system because similar accountability measures that were instituted in the 1990s had an impact on student achievement. When one studies this vast literature, it becomes clear that few, if any, discuss the status states have made toward achieving the goal as well as the Acts direct effect on state test scores. Therefore, the aim of this research is to examine kids with different racial and social classes to participate in class in the public school systems. However, before state achievement results are examined, this research paper will describe the No Child Left behind Act, states' accountability plans, and student achievement.

The sweeping federal legislation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001; henceforth referred to as the Act) set admirable but challenging goals to help all children become proficient in reading and mathematics, reduced achievement gaps in the student population, and bring in a single federal accountability system for all states by 2013-2014, among others. Ever since then, politicians, educators, teachers, and researchers nationwide have been questioning the attainability and justifiability of these goals. A 2004 report expressed major concerns about the ability of states to meet the ambitious goal of 100% proficiency for all students. Undeniably, the Act has made an impact in improving students' performance but changes have not been equal across the nation, within the states, or among all students. The 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report found mathematics scores in the nation, for grades 4 and 8, to be higher than those in 2005 (Linn, pp. 699-711). Results at the state level have also shown gains since 2005, but the picture is not uniform. Although no states reported a decrease in scores from 2005 to 2007, there were 17 states that showed no significant changes in either grade, and Mississippi was one of them (Gruwell, pp. 1-292).

Further, in the 2007-2008 NCLB Improvement Status for Schools, 68 public schools (7.7%) in Mississippi were identified as those that "need improvement" (Moe, pp. 82-89). It is under ...