The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is designed to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and disadvantaged children through its Title I program. This book explores models to achieve equity in Title I schools; and defines what is required of states in Title I schools. It examines how each state implements NCLB accountability standards.

This book presents the latest developments related to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, legislation to extend and revise the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was signed into law as P.L. 107-110 (H.R. 1). This legislation extensively amends and re-authorises many of the programs of federal aid to elementary and secondary education. Major features of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 include the following: (a) states will be required to implement standards-based assessments in reading and mathematics for pupils in each of grades 3-8 by the 2005-2006 school year, and at three grade levels in science by the 2007-2008 school year; (b) grants to states for assessment development are authorised; (c) all states will be required to participate in National Assessment of Educational Progress tests in 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics every second year; (d) states must develop adequate yearly progress (AYP) standards, incorporating a goal of all pupils reaching a proficient or advanced level of achievement within 12 years, and apply them to each public school, local education agency (LEA), and the state overall; (e) a sequence of consequences, including public school choice and supplemental services options, would apply to schools and LEAs that fail to meet AYP standards for 2 or more consecutive years; (f) ESEA Title I allocation formulas are modified to increase targeting on high poverty states and LEAs and to move Puerto Rico gradually toward parity with the states; (g) within 3 years, all paraprofessionals paid with Title I funds must have completed at least 2 years of higher education or met a "rigorous standard of quality"; (h) several new programs aimed at improving reading instruction are authorised; (i) teacher programs are consolidated into a state grant authorising a wide range of activities such as teacher recruitment, professional development, and hiring; (j) states and LEAs participating in Title I have various requirements to ensure that teachers meet the bill's definition of "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-2006 school year; (k) almost all states and LEAs are authorised to transfer a portion of the funds they receive under several programs, and selected states and LEAs may consolidate funds under certain programs through performance agreements; (l) federal support of public school choice is expanded; (m) several previous programs are consolidated into a state grant supporting integration of technology into K-12 education; (n) the Bilingual and Emergency Immigrant Education Acts are consolidated into a single formula grant, with existing limits on the share of grants for specific instructional approaches eliminated; and (o) the 21st Century Community Learning Center program is converted into a formula grant with increased focus on after-school activities.

Hess is a specialist in education policy at the American Enterprise Institute and Harvard U.; Petrilli is with the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a Washington-based school reform organization. They offer a concise guide to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), covering the history and key elements of the law, how it is intended to work, how i.