No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, is one of the most significant and sweeping Federal Education policy reforms in decades. By participating in Title I, a voluntary Federal program that provides funding to help educate low income children, each state agrees to achieve the goal of having all children proficient in reading and math by the year 2014.

The NCLB Act redefined the Federal role in K-12 education with special emphasis on closing the achievement gap. In order to determine whether or not schools and districts are on track, each state sets benchmark goals and measures the level of "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) being made toward the ultimate goal that all students will demonstrate reading and math proficiency.

By passing NCLB, Congress made the accountability provisions clear and strong. The AYP provisions in NCLB set a new standard for defining success. Schools are now expected to meet clearly defined annual goals established by the State. New Jersey, in consultation with the Federal administration, has established forty indicators (or standards) for all public schools in the State. To be judged clearly successful by this criteria, a school must meet or exceed each of the forty indicators every year. Schools and districts must meet these standards for the total population and also for each subcategory of students of thirty or more.

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