NCLB Resources for Educators

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - the main federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. NCLB is built on four principles: accountability for results, more choices for parents, greater local control and flexibility, and an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research.

General NCLB Resources

No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference

This web site contains the archived copies of the 2002 document that describes what is new under the NCLB Act of 2001 for each program supported under the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 and other statutes.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/nclbreference/index.html?src=mr

U.S. Department of Education: NCLB Web Site

This USDOE web site provides a summary, overview and fact sheet regarding No Child Left Behind (NCLB) as well as information on what NCLB means for each state.

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml

U.S. Department of Education: NCLB Legislation, Regulations and Policy Guidance

This web site provides links to legislation, Federal Register notices, policy guidance and grant applications for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/legislation.html

U.S. Department of Education: NCLB-A Road Map to Success

This 2005 publication describes how the USDOE-together with parents, educators and policymakers-is making No Child Left Behind work for states, schools and students.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/roadmap/index.html

Education Commission of States (ECS): NCLB

This web site provides links to resources created by ECS and other organizations that are related to No Child Left Behind.

http://nclb2.ecs.org

Accountability for Results

U.S. Department of Education: State Accountability Plans

This web site provides links to every state's accountability plan under NCLB.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html

Making sense of adequate yearly progress

This NWREL Topical Summary Report (July 2004) discusses one key aspect of NCLB: adequate yearly progress (AYP). It reviews the major requirements of AYP, examines how the five Northwestern states determine AYP, and reports what the current data tell us about the achievement gaps among groups of students in these states. Finally, this report looks at how the top state education officials are viewing AYP results.

http://www.nwrel.org/planning/reports/ayp/AYP.pdf

Principal Leadership for Accountability: Optimizing the Use of Title II Resources

In the wake of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, a vortex of educational changes now affects the way public educators at all levels conduct daily business. This NWREL Topical Summary Report (June 2005) examines the questions: How can policymakers and institutions of higher education help principals cope with this stringent new climate? In what ways can they mesh preparation programs for the prospective principal with more demanding state licensure requirements? How can professional development for the practicing principal be strengthened so that school leaders can fall back upon a web of support?

http://www.nwrel.org/planning/reports/accountability/Accountability.pdf

More Choices for Parents — Supplemental Services

U.S. Department Of Education Guidance on Supplemental Education Services

The guidance clarifies the roles of states and districts in implementing supplemental educational services under No Child Left Behind, as well as highlighting ideas for connecting parents to supplemental educational services (SES) providers (June 2005).

Download PDF or Word Doc: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/suppsvcsguid.doc

Innovations in Education: Creating Strong Supplemental Educational Services Programs

This U.S. Department of Education publication (May 2004) focuses on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act's supplemental educational services provisions.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/comm/suppsvcs/sesprograms/report.pdf

An Emphasis on What Works Based on Scientific Research

Bringing Evidence-Driven Progress To Education: A Recommended Strategy for the Department of Education

This report (November 2002) is the result of a collaborative initiative with the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy and the U.S. Department of Education to explore how the USDOE can most effectively advance evidence-based education policy.

http://coexgov.securesites.net/admin/FormManager/filesuploading/coalitionFinRpt.pdf

CSRQ Center Report on Elementary School CSR Models

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has released the CSRQ Center Report (updated November 2006) on Elementary School CSR Models, which provides a scientifically based, consumer-friendly review of the effectiveness and quality of 22 widely adopted elementary school comprehensive school reform (CSR) models.

http://www.csrq.org/es_form.asp

Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported By Rigorous Evidence

Developed by the US Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, this December 2003 guide provides educational practitioners with tools to distinguish practices supported by rigorous evidence from those that are not.

http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/rigorousevid/index.html

Works in Progress: A Report on Middle and High School Improvement Programs

This January 2005 publication produced by the Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center reviews issues facing America's middle and high schools, and a survey of approaches-including comprehensive school reform-used to address these challenges.

http://www.csrq.org/docs/WorksInProgressReport_Web.pdf

Rural Schools and Districts

Challenges and Opportunities of NCLB for Small, Rural, and Isolated Schools

This NWREL report (June 2003) highlights some of the creative solutions around the region to fulfilling NCLB requirements and documents some of the impediments. Surveys and interviews were conducted by investigators from the Montana Small Schools Alliance; Washington Rural Education Center; Intermountain Center for Education Effectiveness at Idaho State University; Oregon Small Schools Association; and Alaska Staff Development Network.

http://www.nwrel.org/planning/reports/NCLB/NCLB.pdf

The Rural School and Community Trust's Report: The Devil is in the Details

This report focuses on certain details of the accountability provisions of NCLB and identifies 12 areas where state accountability plans can have special significance for rural schools and districts. "Rural-Sensitive Best Practices" are beneficial to rural and small schools and most clearly recognize the realities and challenges of schooling in rural areas. The report looks at 15 states with significant rural populations (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming) and examines the extent to which state accountability choices are "rural-sensitive" in each of these 12 areas.

Link to the report from ruraledu.org

The Rural School and Community Trust's No Child Left Behind

The Rural School and Community Trust has created a web page that focuses on how NCLB affects rural education.

http://www.ruraledu.org/site/c.beJMIZOCIrH/b.1073931/k.59AC/No_Child_Left_Behind.htm