No Child Left Behind

In Washington, on January 8, its fifth anniversary, the No Child Left Behind Bill’s renewal is being discussed. The measure’s goal is to help schools to achieve better yearly achievement and bring all the students up to their grade level in math and reading by 2014. Democrats, now in the majority, are pushing for more money to be allotted to states. They believe that there is a 56 billion dollar deficiency in funding. It is suggested that there should be a nation wide standard for academic sufficiency because as it stands now, states’ progress is widely varied. Improvements are being suggested by many leaders. Kennedy, a Senator from Massachusetts, proposes better programs for impoverished children that include outreach workers. Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor of California, advised Margaret Spellings, Education Secretary, to increase spending so the No Child Left Behind Bill could be implemented correctly.


The No Child Left Behind Bill was a decisive step towards making education a priority in the spending of the government. When infant America was under the rule of the Articles of Confederation, a similar law was passed. The Land Ordinance of 1875 set aside one section of land for the purpose of public education in each township. This was one of the few things that was passed under the Articles of Confederation for it was replaced by the Constitution merely a decade or so later. Many of the land allotted for this purpose is still used today or was sold in order to fund public education Other laws that require school attendance have been passed by states.