A Guide

 to Education

 and

 No Child

 Left Behind

U.S. Department of Education

SM

No Child
U.S. Department of Education

Rod Paige

Secretary

Office of Public Affairs

John Gibbons

Director

October 2004

This guide is in the public domain. Authorization to

reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While

permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of

Education, Office of the Secretary, Office of Public

Affairs, A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind,

Washington, D.C., 2004.

To obtain copies of this guide:

write to: ED Pubs, Education Publications Center,

U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup,

MD 20794-1398; or

fax your request to: (301) 470-1244; or

e-mail your request to: edpubs@inet.ed.gov; or

call in your request toll-free to: 1-877-433-7827 (1-

877-4-ED-PUBS); if 877 service is not available, call

1-800-872-5327 (1-800-USA-LEARN); and if you

need TTY or TDD service call 1-877-576-7734; or

order onl der online at: www.edpubs.org; or

visit our visit our Web site at: www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/

intro/guide/.

On request, this publication is available in Braille,

large print or computer diskette. For more information, please call the Department’s Alternate Format

Center at (202) 260-9895 or (202) 205-8113.
Foreword

Education is one of the most important functions of government. It

was a concern of the early settlers, and a

focus of the Founding Fathers in writing the

Constitution precisely because our democracy

is dependent on an educated public. The

Founders did not want education for the elite or

for the many. They wanted education for all.

John Adams once exclaimed: “Education for

every class and rank of people down to the

lowest and the poorest.”

The Founding Fathers were correct:

Education is necessary for the growth and

prosperity of our country. As education has

become more inclusive and of better quality, it

has enhanced American economic and political

leadership.

The task of educating the people has

historically been left up to state and local

governments. In the late 18th century and into

the 19th century, some states, such as Virginia,

Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, became known

for the quality of their education systems.

These school systems were the product of

visionary contributions. Noah Webster worked

to improve public education through writing

dictionaries, spellers, readers, and histories.

Benjamin Rush championed public education

for girls. Horace Mann initiated efforts to

improve the physical facilities of schools and to

develop the first teacher training program.

Thaddeus Stevens pushed through legislation

i
for public support of education in Pennsylvania.

New York state set up the first public high

schools. Other states followed, and soon public

education was available for children across the

country.

Recognizing the universal importance of

education, the federal government assumed a

larger role in financing public schools with the

passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education

Act (ESEA) in 1965. Through subsequent

reauthorizations, ESEA has continued to assist

the states. In 2001, the reauthorization included No Child Left Behind, which asks the

states to set standards for student performance

and teacher quality. The law establishes accountability for results and improves the inclusiveness

and fairness of American education.

I hope this guide will be a useful resource

for understanding the No Child Left Behind Act.

If you have additional questions, please feel free

to contact the Department by calling

1-800-USA-LEARN.

Sincerely,

Rod Paige

Secretary

U.S. Department of Education

ii
1

Satisfying the demand for highly skilled

workers is the key to maintaining

competitiveness and prosperity in the global

economy.

Over the 10 years from March 1993 to

March 2003, employment of persons ages 25

to 64 with master’s degrees or higher

increased by more than 3.2 million while

employment of persons ages 25 to 64 with no

more than a high school diploma increased by

fewer than 460,000.1

Additionally, the average unemployment

rate for high school dropouts in 2003 was

more than 1.5 times higher than the

unemployment rate for people with just high

school diplomas (8.8 percent compared to 5.5

percent) and almost three times higher than

the rate for college graduates (8.8 percent to

3.1 percent).2

A recent report found that raising

student achievement directly leads to

national economic growth. The report

estimates that “significant improvements in

education over a 20-year period could lead to

as much as a 4 percent addition to the Gross

Domestic Product” or over $400 billion in

today’s terms.3

Education and the Economy
2

Education by the Numbers

Schools and Districts

As of the 2002-03 school year, there were

14,465 public school districts in the United

States.4

 The 95,615 public schools remain the

primary educational delivery system in the

United States.5

Public Schools,

by Level: 2002-036

Elementary

68.7%

Other 7.6% Secondary

23.6%
3

Alternative Education Systems

The number of alternative schools

continues to grow as a response to the

demand for more choices.

Private Schools 27,223 (1999-2000)7

Charter Schools 2,996 (2003-04)8

From 2000 to 2004 alone, more than

1,000 new charter schools opened, a 50

percent growth rate.9

Home School ome Schooling

In 2004, the National Center for

Education Statistics estimated that in spring

2003, the most recent period for which data is

available, there were about 1.1 million

homeschooled children, compared to 850,000

in spring 1999. 10

Education by the Numbers
4

Education by the Numbers

Students

There are 48.2 million public school

students in the United States. About 4.1

million students, or 8.5 percent, are English

language learners.12

6.4 million students, or 13.4 percent of

students ages 3 to 21, are served in federally

supported programs for the disabled.13

White

59.2%

Black

17.1%

Hispanic

18.1%

Public Elementary and Secondary

School Students, by Race: 2002-03 : 2002-03 11

Asian/Pacific

Islander

4.4%

American

Indian/

Alaska

Native

1.2%
5

Education by the Numbers

Teachers

Public Elementary and

Secondary School Teachers,

by Race: 1999-2000

For the 1999-2000 school year,

approximately 75 percent of all public school

teachers were female.15

The average student : teacher ratio in

2002-03 was 16:1.16

Total 3,002,258 14

White,

non-Hispanic

2,531,578

(84%)

Black,

nonHispanic

227,505 (8%)

Hispanic

169,025 (6%)

Asian or

Pacific

Islander

48,281 (2%))

American

Indian/

Alaska

Native

25,869

(1%)
6

The School Community

Teachers and Principals

The ratio of administrative staff members

to teaching staff members is about even.

Just over half (51 percent) of public school

staff members are teachers.17

School principals are well-educated and

experienced. Only around 10 percent of

public school principals are under age 40,

and 98 percent have a master’s degree or

above. About 44 percent of public school

principals are women.18

Students

The majority of American public school

students, 52 percent, attend suburban

schools. Thirty-one percent of public

school students attend city schools, and 17

percent attend rural schools.19

Education by the Numbers
7

School Districts

• The 100 largest public school districts

account for less than 1 percent of

districts, but they also account for 22

percent of students and 16 percent of

schools.20

• The two largest public school districts are

New York City Public Schools and the

Los Angeles Unified School District.

These districts are each larger than over

half of the individual state education

systems.21

• The states with the largest percentage of

minority students are California, Hawaii,

Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and

Texas. In addition, the District of

Columbia reports 95.7 percent minority

students. 22

Education by the Numbers
8

Graduation aduation Trends

More Americans have completed

 high school. high school.

• Between 1990 and 2003, the proportion

of the adult population 25 years of age and

over who had completed high school rose

from 78 percent to an all-time high of 85

percent. 23

Bachelor’s degrees are becoming

 more common.

• Between 1990 and 2003, the proportion

of the adult population 25 years of age and

over with a bachelor’s degree increased

from 21 percent to an all-time high of 27

percent.24

Education by the Numbers
9

College financi ge financial aid is on the rise. al aid is on the rise.

• Under the president’s 2005 budget

request, overall student financial aid

would grow to $73.1 billion.25

• The number of recipients of grant, loan,

and work-study assistance would increase

by 426,000 to 10 million students and

parents.

Education by the Numbers
10

As a nation, we now spend $501.3 billion

annually at all levels of government on

elementary and secondary education.

American taxpayers invest more in

education than in the Defense Department.

The United States invests more per pupil than

almost any other nation in the world.

Unfortunately, as Organization for Economic

Development Education Director Barry

McGaw noted, “The U.S. doesn’t get the bang

for its buck.”

National Expenditures

and Achievement

Expenditures for Elementary and

Secondary Education26

Years

Dollars in Billions

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

1990-

1991

1991-

1992

1992-

1993

1993-

1994

1994-

1995

1995-

1996

1996-

1997

1997-

1998

1998-

1999

2000-

2001

2001-

2002

2002-

2003

2003-

2004

Federal

State

Local

Other

249.0 261.3 274.2 287.5 302.5

318.3

 339.2

361.4

384.0

411.5

442.7

462.7

482.0

501.3

1999-

2000
11

41%

13% 15%

38%

16% 15%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

4th-Grade Reading Proficiency: 200327

Much work remains to close the

achievement gap in the early years. Even after

four years of public schooling, most students

perform below proficiency in both reading and

mathematics. Minority and disadvantaged

students are most at risk for falling behind.

43%

10%

16%

48%

17% 15%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

4th-Grade Math Proficiency: 200328

National Expenditures

and Achievement

White African

American

Hispanic Asian/Pacific

Islander

American

Indian/Alaska

Native

Disadvantaged

White African

American

Hispanic Asian/Pacific

Islander

American

Indian/Alaska

Native

Disadvantaged
12

Upon graduating from high school, few

students have acquired the math and science

skills necessary to compete in the knowledgebased economy.

National Expenditures

and Achievement

20%

3% 4%

34%

10%

4%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

12th-Grade Math Proficiency:200029

White African

American

Hispanic Asian/Pacific

Islander

American

Indian/Alaska

Native

Disadvantaged

White African

American

Hispanic Asian/Pacific

Islander

American

Indian/Alaska

Native

Disadvantaged

23%

3%

7%

26%

9% 6%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

G S

12th-Grade Science Proficiency:200030
13

The principles of No Child Left Behind date

back to Brown v. Board of Education, when the

U.S. Supreme Court outlawed racial

segregation in public schools and determined

that the “separate but equal doctrine” was

unconstitutional. That decision is now 50

years old.

Just after the passage of the Civil Rights

Act in 1964, the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act became law in 1965. No Child

Left Behind is the 21st-century iteration of this

first major federal foray into education

policy—a realm that is still mainly a state and

local function, as envisioned by our Founding

Fathers.

On Jan. 8, 2002, President Bush signed

the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-

110) into law with overwhelming bipartisan

support. The final votes were 87-10 in the

Senate and 381-41 in the House. Senators Ted

Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH)

and Congressmen George Miller (D-CA) and

John Boehner (R-OH) were its chief sponsors

in the Senate and the House.

No Child Left Behind ensures

accountability and flexibility as well as

increased federal support for education. No

Child Left Behind continues the legacy of the

Brown v. Board decision by creating an

education system that is more inclusive,

responsive, and fair.

The History of

No Child Left Behind
14

Improving the Academic Achievement of

the Economically Disadvantaged

The flagship federal education program,

known as the “Title I” program, provides

supplemental education support for students

who are eligible for free or reduced-price

lunches in school.

The program serves more than 15 million

students in nearly all school districts and

more than half of all public schools, including

two-thirds of the nation’s elementary schools.

Too often, these students do not receive the

educational foundation they need to achieve

their full potential in school or in life.

Support: Title I program funding

increases to $13.3 billion for students in highpoverty schools under the president’s 2005

budget request. The president requested his

third consecutive increase of $1 billion for

disadvantaged students, or 52 percent over

2001 funding.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
15

Preparing, Training, and Recruiting Highly

Qualified ualified Teachers and Principals

Under No Child Left Behind, all teachers

must be highly qualified by the end of the

2005-06 school year. One of the most

important ways to close the achievement gap

and provide all children with a great education

is to provide them great teachers. Studies

have shown the single greatest effect on

student achievement is teacher quality. For

this reason, America must remain steadfast in

meeting the goal of ensuring that every

classroom has a highly qualified teacher.

To be “highly qualified,” a teacher must (1)

hold a bachelor’s degree, (2) hold a

certification or licensure to teach in the state

of his or her employment, and (3) have proven

knowledge of the subjects he or she teaches.

Support: Under the president’s 2005

budget request, teachers receive $5.1 billion in

support through training, recruitment

incentives, loan forgiveness, and tax relief—up

from $4.4 billion in 2004.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
16

Language Instruction for Limited English

Proficient and Immigrant Students

President Bush is committed to

expanding educational opportunities for all

students, including students who are learning

the English language and students who are

new to this country.

Children learning English face some of

the greatest educational challenges due to

language and cultural barriers. That is why

President Bush and Congress pushed through

the historic education reforms of No Child

Left Behind. The law ensures that all

children—from every ethnic and cultural

background—receive a quality education and

the chance to achieve their academic

potential.

Support: The president’s 2005 budget

provides $681 million for English language

acquisition funding for children who are

learning the English language, so they can

reach their academic potential and fully

participate in the American dream.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
17

Giving Parents Choices and Creating

Innovative Education Programs

No child should be trapped in an

underperforming school. Under No Child Left

Behind, students who attend Title I schools

that do not make adequate yearly progress, as

defined by states, for two consecutive years

have the option of transferring to a higherperforming public school or a charter school

within their district.

The promotion of charter schools is an

important component of No Child Left Behind.

These schools are held to the same

accountability standards as traditional public

schools, but they face fewer burdensome

regulations. The result is more room for

educators to be innovative and more choices

for parents.

Support: Funding for choice and options

for students and parents expands to $504

million under the president’s 2005 budget

request—an additional $113 million—to

empower families to find schools that best

meet the needs of their children, in particular

those who need help the most.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
18

Making the Education System Accountable

Accountability is a crucial step in

addressing the achievement gaps that plague

our nation. For too long, the poor

achievement of our most vulnerable students

has been lost in unrepresentative averages.

African American, Hispanic, special

education, limited English proficient, and

many other students were left behind because

schools were not held accountable for their

individual progress. Now all students count.

Under No Child Left Behind, every state is

required to 1) set standards for grade-level

achievement and 2) develop a system to

measure the progress of all students and

subgroups of students in meeting those statedetermined grade-level standards.

Support: For fiscal year 2005, President

Bush requested $410 million to support the

development and implementation of state

assessments to ensure students, parents, and

teachers receive vital information about the

performance of individual students, schools,

and school districts.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
19

Making the System Responsive to

Local Needs

In addition to being accountable, states

and school districts have the flexibility to

pursue educational excellence by the means

that best meet their needs. No Child Left

Behind provides unprecedented levels of

flexibility regarding the management of

federal funds.

For example, most school districts may

transfer up to 50 percent of the funding they

receive under four major formula grant

programs (Teacher Quality State Grants,

Educational Technology State Grants, Safe

and Drug-Free Schools and Communities

State Grants, and State Grants for Innovative

Programs) to any one of these programs or to

the Title I program for disadvantaged

students.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
20

Helping All Children Learn to Read

Because President and Mrs. Bush know

that reading is the foundation for all other

learning, the administration has set the goal

of making sure every child knows how to read

at grade level by the third grade. Reading

opens doors to children who otherwise would

struggle through school, lacking the skills to

succeed and grow. Literacy is a vital skill for a

successful student.

Children who learn to read well early in

life are more likely to be engaged in school

and experience academic success. A

deficiency in reading skills impacts

achievement in all other areas of education.

Support: Under President Bush’s latest

budget request, reading funding increases to a

total of $1.4 billion, including $1.1 billion for

the Reading First program, $132 million for

Early Reading First programs, and $100

million for the Striving Readers program to

meet the president’s goal of ensuring every

child can read on grade level.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
21

Helping Children With Disabi ith Disabilities

The Department of Education is

committed to ensuring that all children—

including children with disabilities—receive a

high-quality education. Before the passage of

No Child Left Behind, the 1997 reauthorization

of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act (IDEA) required that students with

disabilities be included in state and districtwide assessment programs. No Child Left

Behind builds on this requirement by ensuring

that these assessments measure how well

students with disabilities have learned

required material in reading and mathematics.

Students with the most significant cognitive

disabilities can have results from specially

designed alternate assessments used in

accountability decisions instead.

Support: Special Education Grants to

States Program would receive a record $11.1

billion under the 2005 budget request. This

represents the president’s fourth consecutive

request for a $1 billion increase to support

children with disabilities—a 75 percent

increase over the funding level when the

president took office and the highest level of

federal support ever requested for children

with disabilities.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
22

Terms To Know

Adequate Yearly Progress: Under No

Child Left Behind, each state establishes a

definition of “adequate yearly progress”

(AYP) to use each year to determine the

achievement of each school district and

school. States are to identify for

improvement any Title I school that does

not meet the state’s definition of adequate

yearly progress for two consecutive years.

Participation Rate: In order to make

“adequate yearly progress” (AYP), schools

must demonstrate that at least 95 percent of

all students participated in the state

assessment at each grade. This requirement

must be met for all students in a school and

for subgroups of those students defined by

race/ethnicity, poverty level, disability, and

English language proficiency.

Disaggregation: gation: To ensure that children

who are performing poorly are not lost in

averages of achievement results, each state

must report the performance of various

subgroups if the subgroup is large enough

for statistical reliability as determined by

the state.

Highly Qualified Teacher: eacher: To be deemed

highly qualified, teachers must have: 1) a

bachelor’s degree, 2) full state certification

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
23

or licensure, and 3) demonstrated

competency in each subject they teach.

Demonstration of Competency: New

elementary school teachers have to pass a

state test on subject knowledge and

teaching skills. Teachers in middle and

high school must prove that they know

the subjects they teach by passing a state

test in their subjects, completing an

academic major or coursework equivalent

to a major in their subjects, or by

receiving an advanced degree or advanced

certification/credential. Experienced

teachers may also prove competency

through HOUSSE (see below).

High, Objective, Uniform State

Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE): d of Evaluation (HOUSSE):

NCLB allows states to develop an

additional way for current teachers to

demonstrate subject-matter competency

and meet highly qualified teacher

requirements. Proof may consist of a

combination of teaching experience,

professional development, and knowledge

in the subject garnered over time in the

profession.

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001
24

U.S. Secretary of Education

Rod Paige

No Child Left Behind ld Left Behind Act of 2001

We should think big thoughts and have

high expectations. The American school

system must become and remain the best in

the world. We need all of our students to

excel, not just some. The president wants to

raise all schools to the highest levels of

scholarship and motivation. The essential

first step is the No Child Left Behind law,

because it makes education more inclusive,

fair, and successful.
25

Sources

1 Employment Policy Foundation (2004).

Data analysis of Current Population

Surveys from March 1993 and March

2003, U.S. Department of Commerce,

Bureau of the Census.

2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of the

Census. 2003 Annual Averages.

Unemployment rates for people ages 25

and over.

3 The Teaching Commission (2004).

Teaching at Risk: A Call to Action. New

York: Author.

4 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.

5 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.

6 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year. Elementary schools are
26

schools beginning with grade 6 or below

and with no grade higher than 8.

Secondary schools are schools with no

grade lower than 7.

7 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics (2003). A

Brief Profile of America’s Private Schools,

Table 1.

8 Center for Education Reform (2004).

National Charter School Directory, 9th

Edition. Washington: CER Books.

9 Center for Education Reform (2004).

National Charter School Directory, 9th

Edition. Washington: CER Books.

10 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics (2004).

“1.1 Million Homeschooled Students in

the United States in 2003,” Issue Brief.

11 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.

12 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.
27

13 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics (to be

available soon). Digest of Education Statistics

2003.

14 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics (2003).

Digest of Education Statistics 2002, Table 68.

15 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics (2003).

Digest of Education Statistics 2002, Table 68.

16 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.

17 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year. Numbers from the fall of

2002.

18 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics (2003).

Digest of Education Statistics 2002, Table 85.

Numbers from 1999-2000 school year.

19 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.
28

20 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.

21 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.

22 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics.

Unpublished tabulations compiled from

Common Core of Data for 2002-03

School Year.

23 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of

the Census (2004). 2003 Annual Social

and Economic Supplement to the Current

Population Survey; and March Current

Population Surveys 1952-2002.

24 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of

the Census (2004). 2003 Annual Social

and Economic Supplement to the Current

Population Survey; and March Current

Population Surveys 1952-2002.

25 All budget numbers from the Department

of Education Fiscal Year 2005 Budget

Summary.

26 Chart provided by the U.S. Department

of Education Budget Service.
29

27 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics. National

Assessment of Educational Progress, 2003

Reading Assessments. Disadvantaged

defined by eligibility for free/reducedprice lunch.

28 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics. National

Assessment of Educational Progress, 2003

Mathematics Assessments.

Disadvantaged defined by eligibility for

free/reduced-price lunch.

29 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics. National

Assessment of Educational Progress,

2000 Mathematics Assessments.

Disadvantaged defined by eligibility for

free/reduced-price lunch.

30 U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics. National

Assessment of Educational Progress,

2000 Science Assessments.

Disadvantaged defined by eligibility for

free/reduced-price lunch.