What are the New Requirements of NCLB?

The NCLB Act is very comprehensive. The requirements that will most significantly impact your child's education include:

NCLB requires state departments of education to develop challenging academic content standards and academic assessments. This means you can expect to hear a lot about state academic standards in basic subjects and new or revised state "standards tests." Many states already have such standards and testing programs, but NCLB will require more consistency in how tests are used, who takes the tests, and how results are reported for both individual students and schools. The law requires annual testing of children in at least grades 3 though 8 in reading and math by 2005-06; science must be assessed by the 2007-08 school year. This means your children in grades 3-8 will be taking state standards tests every year; many states and districts will include younger and older children in their testing programs.

NCLB requires states and districts to provide annual "report cards" on school performance and teacher quality to parents and the public. You can expect to receive at least annual information from your child's school, not only about your own child's progress compared to district and state standards, but about how the school is doing in general in terms of academic achievement and safety.

States and local districts must implement policies allowing students to transfer to other, safer schools if they have been victims of violent crimes while at school or if their home school is judged to be "persistently dangerous." It is hoped that this provision will prompt schools to develop programs that reduce violence and bullying and promote a positive learning environment.

NCLB has provisions to allow children to transfer out of a school designated as "in need of improvement" or they may receive "supplemental services" to remedy their failure to master basic subjects.

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