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Is The No Child Left Behind Act Closing The Achievement Gap And Is The Act Fair?

Is the No Child Left Behind Act Closing the Achievement Gap and Is the Act Fair?

Is the new educational reform act truly closing the achievement gap in our school systems? The No Child Left Behind Act is supposed to be closing the achievement gap. This essay will be telling the purpose behind the act, how the act works, and the consequences of the act. There are many arguments against the act. This essay will be discussing some of these arguments. From these arguments, is the No Child Left Behind Act closing the achievement gap and is the act fair?
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was signed into law by President George Bush on January 8, 2002 (Walker, 2007). This law is to reform the educational system. The law was implented as a five-year plan. But in 2007, as talk in the Congress about reauthorization of NCLB was starting, a clause in the original law automatically renewed the act for the 2008 fiscal year. The purpose of the act is to increase the achievement gap and increase statewide accountability in educational excellence (Walker, 2007). The act is based on four components: academic proficiency-all students are required to meet the proficient level on state tests by the year of 2013-2014 school year. Flexibility in use of federal education funds-states and school districts are allowed to use the federal grant money to suit their particular needs. Federal funding is provided to educational programs and methods that have been proven by scientific research. Parents have choices-parents have the choice to move their child(ren) to another school if the current school does not meet the state standards for at least two consecutive years. Whichever school that is chosen has to provide transportation. The main purpose of this act is to increase the achievement gap among all students.
The No Child Left Behind Act’s policy is to close the achievement gap. By closing the achievement gap, the states, school districts, and schools are...