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Feature/General
What is "No Child Left Behind?"
By Victoria Smith
January/February 2004

The Clarke County School District, along with the rest of the nation’s school districts, is striving to meet the most challenging federal education requirements in a generation. The 2002 revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). There is little flexibility in the federal law, which requires every school to close the achievement gap between socio-economic groups, abilities and cultures. The federal law requires each state to demonstrate that it has developed and is implementing a single statewide accountability system in which Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is only one component.

NCLB requires that each state test annually between grade spans 3-5, 6-9 and in grade 10-12 in meeting AYP standards. Georgia’s goals for AYP of the NCLB Act are: 1) to improve student achievement, thereby closing the achievement gap; 2) to provide maximum flexibility in implementation of the program; 3) to be fair and consistent, and; 4) to go beyond simply promoting proficiency to promote excellence.

The standardized testing requirement of NCLB is not without opponents. Concern about children who perform poorly on standardized tests being held back has led the Georgia Association of School Psychologists to formally object to “high-risk” testing (see article on page 28).

The standards for meeting AYP requirements are consistent for every school district and accountable subgroup throughout Georgia. The following are used for assessing AYP: In grades 3-8 the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) for Math and CRCT Reading and English Language Arts; in high school, the GHSGT (Georgia High School Graduation Test) Math and GHSGT Language Arts (both are high school exit exams given in 11th grade) and Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA). GAA is a functional test given to those students who are unable to participate in the regular assessments even with maximum accommodations. (NCLB requirements limit GAA participation to 1 percent of the students in each school district.)

NCLB requirements include timely information and an accountability report card. This means that states are required to provide parents with easy-to-read report cards on schools and districts, telling them which schools are succeeding at meeting the goals and why. The report cards will present student data broken out by ethnicity, race, gender and English language proficiency, migrant status, disability status and low-income status. All groups must pass proficiency standards in order for a given school or district to achieve NCLB goals.

Assessment results need to be provided before the beginning of the school year. All schools in Georgia and the nation are rising to the challenge, and all schools in Georgia, both Title I and non-Title I, and charter schools will be affected by the No Child Left Behind Act. Accountability reports will include all schools. Federal sanctions will apply only to Title I schools. There will be intervention for non-Title I schools, as outlined by the state accountability system.

Under No Child Left Behind, children will no longer be trapped in low-performing schools. Such schools will be required to use federal dollars to make necessary improvements. If a school continues to have poor performance, parents have options to ensure that their children receive a quality education. Options include being able to transfer to higher performing schools or receiving tutoring or remedial classes.

And the NCLB Act includes all students, with no deferment for those with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency. A common concern nationwide is the fairness of holding those with disabilities and limited English proficiency to the same standards as non-disabled and English speaking students. Scores are included in AYP determinations only if students have been in school a full academic year. Evaluation shall be based on full calendar year attendance and will track students who move within districts and within the same state.

Not only do schools have to meet NCLB with assessment results but must meet requirements for other academic indicators such as attendance. Attendance seems to be a problem for many schools. In Georgia, 13.8 percent of students were absent more than 15 days per year.

The NCLB Act requires that student performance be disaggregated by various subgroups: six racial/ethnic categories, disabilities, limited English proficiency, and socio-economic status. A minimum number of 40 will be used for subgroup accountability. A minimum number of 10 will be used for reporting purposes.

Georgia will have separate starting points for English/reading and math. Starting points increase to 100 percent proficiency by 2013-2014. For example, the starting point for CRCT math is an objective of 50 percent proficiency. Beginning in 2005, the objective will be 58.3 percent proficiency. In 2008, the objective will increase to 66.7, and then will steeply incline to 100 percent over the period from 2011 to 2014. Meanwhile, the starting point for CRCT English/reading is 60 percent, increasing to 66.7 in 2005, 73.3 in 2008, and to 100 percent over the period from 2011 to 2014.

No Child Left Behind not only requires accountability, it gives states and local education facilities more flexibility in how they use federal dollars. This means that principals and administrators spend less of their time filling out forms, and more time attending to students’ needs.

NCLB also defines the qualifications needed by teachers and paraprofessionals who deliver classroom instruction. It requires that states develop plans to ensure that all teachers of core academic subjects be highly qualified to teach their subjects. This goal must be met by the close of the 2005-2006 school year. In short, if your child is not learning you will know why. And if your child’s school is not performing you will have new choices and your school will receive help. No Child Left Behind supports learning in the earliest years, to prevent many learning difficulties that arise later. It ensures that all children will learn to read by third grade, and puts forth a billion dollars to achieve this goal alone.

To learn more:
You can find out more about this new law by attending a program offered by Pam Smith, Executive Director. Contact her at 706-546-7721 for more information.

A Parent’s Guide
Get your own guide to the No Child Left Behind Act by ordering online at www.ed.gov/publs/edpubs.html or by calling 1-877-433-7827and asking for No Child Left Behind: A Parent’s Guide

 

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