Krista Kafer, Heritage FoundationJuly 6, 2004
This short Heritage "Backgrounder" offers an overview of NCLB and some suggestions for how to improve that law and keep its implementation going forward. The suggestions are sensible, if not surprising: ensure that the choice provisions are used; resist cries for more funding; and offer more flexibility for states that do well. They also call for an "honest discussion of the benefits and costs of NCLB," though that's probably wishful thinking, at least during election time. This paper is most useful for its succinct summary of NCLB, including background on the birth of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the '60s, the trend toward achievement testing that took root in the '90s, and the compromises and challenges that accompanied NCLB's drafting and, now, its implementation. You can find it online by clicking here.
