ESSA vs. NCLB: Education Reform Impact

This assignment examines the differences between the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), focusing on their impact on English Language Learners (ELLs). It highlights key changes introduced by ESSA, such as upgraded standards and increased flexibility for schools. The paper also discusses criticisms of NCLB, particularly its emphasis on standardized testing, and explores whether ESSA effectively addressed these concerns.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO SERVING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Introduction to Serving English Language Learners
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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INTRODUCTION TO SERVING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
No Child Left Behind or NCLB was an act passed in the year 2001 to reauthorize the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this act set standards to improve the quality of
elementary and secondary education. ESSA or Every Student Succeeds Act is relatively new it
was passed in the year 2015 and is an updated version of NCLB. ELLs are the English
Language Learners, students who are not native English speakers; this term is particularly used
to refer to the students who are bilingual, or the multicultural students who are learning English
language.
NCLB which was the predecessor of ESSA maintained high standards, empowerment of
the individuals and accountability. There were subtle changes introduced in the new policies,
ESSA differed from NCLB in terms of upgraded standards and the way that the progress of the
students were tracked. The policies of NCLB were criticized as they focused on finding out how
much the students knew rather than how much they were learning or whether there was any
improvement in the quality of learning (ESSA & NCLB - Some Comparisons - Center for
Educational Improvement, 2018). In ESSA there was another major change introduced, the
inclusion of the pre-schools. ESSA is more flexible than NCLB in terms of allowing more
freedom to the schools in keeping them accountable.
The most negative impact of NCLB was that each and every students took the same type
of tests even the students who had certain learning disabilities (Fusarelli, 2017). In ESSA
although certain changes were introduced but it still did not take any steps to improve the
learning abilities of the students who lagged behind in their studies.

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INTRODUCTION TO SERVING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Reference List:
ESSA & NCLB - Some Comparisons - Center for Educational Improvement. (2018). Center for
Educational Improvement. Retrieved 1 February 2018, from
http://www.edimprovement.org/2016/01/essa-basic-considerations/
Fusarelli, L. (2017). Instructional Change in the Era of No Child Left Behind: Perspectives of
Veteran Teachers.