Leaving No Child Behind By Wendi Williams, Editor

These reforms express my deep belief in our public schools and their mission to build the mind and character of every child, from every background, in every part of America.

President George W. Bush,
January 2001

While many Americans would agree that President George W. Bush is not receiving high marks for his war on terrorism or his response to aid Hurricane Katrina victims, he appears to be gaining approval on school reform.

In January 2001, the president outlined his bipartisan education initiative called No Child Left Behind. For millions of school systems across the nation, it meant major reform to close the gaps between the privileged and underprivileged in America's public schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It also reinforces the proposed Bush strategies to increase the accountability for school reform among the states, school districts, and schools; to allow parents and students greater flexibility in choosing better public schools; to allow states to put federal funding to better use; and lastly, to place greater emphasis on reading, particularly among small children (USDE, 2005).

Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd (D) and California Representative George Miller (D) are the authors of this legislation that outlines 12 specific entitlements to children and families to ensure that every child, particularly those living below the poverty level, receives a "head start, a safe start, a fair start, and a healthy start" (CDF, 2005). Furthermore, a new high school initiative was also unveiled to guarantee that at-risk youth obtain greater assistance in the areas of reading, language arts, and mathematics. This specific program provides early intervention for youth that are falling behind in grades nine through eleven.

Because of NCLB, math and reading scores for nine-year-old African-American students have risen 14 and 13 points respectively. For Alabama, the gains are even more promising. Funding for education in fiscal year 2006 is expected to be $1.8 billion, reflecting a 53 percent since President Bush took office. Title I funding earmarked to ensure comprehensive health coverage for American students and their parents will get a hefty boost to $202.5 million to aid children with the greatest needs (USDE, 2005).

Alabama has already received $52.5 million in grant funding for its Reading First program to improve current reading scores among the state's high-poverty schools. In fact, students in such institutions have shown signif-icant improvements by receiving the top reading scores in the state.

Of course, no new legislation or "change" is ever void of criticism. Most Americans would concur that every child deserves the best education possible and that schools lacking adequate resources ought to have a chance to close the gap. However, many critics would argue that standardized tests do not allow teachers to address social inequities. They do not measure a student's true achievement level or allow teachers the chance to focus on particular development needs. Still others would debate that timelines for teachers to improve educational requirements are unrealistic.

It may be another decade before we can fully measure the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, but the press is highly favorable for the president, particularly among those who believe that education reform between the haves and have nots was long overdue.

Martin, Robin Ann. (2004). Commentary. No Child Left Behind. PathsofLearning. Retrieved September 22, 2005.

Messerli, Joe. (October 2, 2003). Should k-12 students be required to complete state-sanctioned minimum skills tests. BalancedPolitics.org. Retrieved September 22, 2005.

United States Department of Education. (2005). Making a difference: No child left behind. Stronger Accountability. Retrieved September 12, 2005.

United States Department of Education. (January 7, 2002). The no child left behind act of 2001: Executive summary. Retrieved September 12, 2005.