No Child Left Behind: A Primer for Business

The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), signed into law in January 2002, provides new accountability measures and resources to help raise student achievement in reading and mathematics. The national business community vigorously advocated for this federal legislation through the Business Coalition for Education Excellence (BCEE).

NCLB was scheduled for reauthorization in 2007 or later, and an intense period of conversations about this important federal law is underway. The business community, through the Business Coalition for Student Achievement, which is formerly known as the BCEE, will play the lead role at the national level in keeping the core principles of this law intact by arguing for sensible mid-course corrections, rather than wholesale changes. The Business Coalition is co-chaired by Craig R. Barrett, Intel; Arthur F. Ryan, Prudential Financial, Inc.; and Edward B. Rust Jr., State Farm; and coordinated by the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

NCLB calls for a closer connection among investments in education and accountability for improving student achievement. It includes annual testing to make sure all students are competent in reading and math in grades three through eight and also at least once in grades 10-12. States must also measure student achievement in science with a statewide assessment in elementary, middle and high school. The law holds schools and school districts accountable for helping all groups of students to achieve proficiency in reading and math by the 2013-14 school year.

The academic performance of all students must be reported to the public each year. Schools that do not make “adequate yearly progress” for several years in a row must get assistance from their school district. And the law provides public school choice and supplemental services, such as tutoring, for parents if their children’s schools do not improve. NCLB also focuses on improving the quality of teaching and helping all children learn to read by the third grade.

Business Roundtable prepared several tools and resources to answer common questions about NCLB and support business leaders’ efforts to help ensure that the law is implemented successfully. The Education Trust and Achievement Alliance also have published a number of resources that track the law’s implementation and provide stories about schools’ success in raising standards and achievement.