An In-Depth Analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act and Its Impact

This essay analyzes the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), examining its impact on student achievement and educational reform. The essay begins by outlining the context of the Act, highlighting its goals of improving student performance and reducing achievement gaps. It then critically evaluates the Act's effectiveness, discussing its strengths and weaknesses. The author argues that NCLB's emphasis on standardized testing and accountability measures, while intended to improve student outcomes, may have inadvertently led to a narrow focus on test scores at the expense of broader educational goals. The essay suggests potential improvements to the Act, such as focusing on the holistic development of students, providing adequate funding, and supporting teachers. It concludes by emphasizing the need for a more nuanced approach to educational policy that considers the complexities of student learning and the importance of fostering well-rounded individuals. The essay is supported by references to relevant research and literature on the topic.

Running head: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Public Administration
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
No Child Left Behind Act 2001 was an Act of the United States Congress to
reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Act expanded the scope of law
providing that the states would introduce a system for school-accountability to be applied to
the students and public schools of the state (Www2.ed.gov. 2018). The purpose of this study
is to evaluate the No Child Left Behind act to apply it effectively so that the schools perform
their duties according to the Act. To evaluate the Act, this essay will provide some
recommendations to improve the provisions set forth by the Act.
The provisions of No Child Left Behind Act was not effective as it failed to achieve
the objectives to improve their scores. It could not meet the objectives as the Act mainly
concentrated to use accountability pressure that are more punitive than constructive. The No
Child Left Behind Act was designed in a way to boost the student achievements and to reduce
the gap between the disadvantaged and advantages student subgroups. A set of test was
created by the National Assessment of Educational Progress to measure the outcome of the
policies provided in the Act (Ahn & Vigdor, 2014). The Act generated some data on the
achievements of the students regarding their math and reading scores. The data has helped the
policymakers and other educational researchers in their work. Despite of these elements,
there were certain flaws in the provisions of this Act. The schools were only required to focus
on improving the test scores of the students rather than developing the skills and knowledge
of the students as a whole to help them to become a good citizen.
To evaluate the No Child Left Behind Act, the focus will be given on the
improvement or development of the students as a whole, and not only to improve their grade
(Sadovnik et al., 2013). For the purpose of evaluating the Act, the students will be made
aware and their inferiority will be addressed. Special strategy will be taken to make the
opportunity to transfer available to them. The program under this Act will be well-funded,
and the government will take appropriate steps for this purpose. Additionally, the teachers

2PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
will be obliged to focus on the performance of the students on other subject and not only on
the math test. The teacher will focus on the other topics rather than the questions to be
appeared mainly on the test. A regular scrutiny will be conducted on the teachers to enhance
the morality of the teachers to effectively apply this program.
Such a policy like NCLB will pay attention to the practice and process for operating
within the schools. To improve the student achievements the school design about the
curriculum of the student will also be developed. Further, the effectiveness of such Act to
improve the math skills will be initiated at the early age based on the biological evidence that
cognitive skills can be more adaptable to students when they are at their early age.

3PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
References:
Ahn, T., & Vigdor, J. (2014). The impact of No Child Left Behind's accountability
sanctions on school performance: Regression discontinuity evidence from North
Carolina (No. w20511). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Sadovnik, A. R., O'Day, J. A., Bohrnstedt, G. W., & Borman, K. M. (2013). No Child
Left Behind and the reduction of the achievement gap: Sociological perspectives on federal
educational policy. Routledge.
Www2.ed.gov. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/guide/index.html