Happy Birthday to NCLB

Today is No Child Left Behind’s 11th birthday. And while that does not mean that we should also be singing happy birthday to the standardized test, it does mean that we’ve seen a lot more of the standardized test’s face around the classroom in the last 11 years.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) marked the beginning of 21st century education reform and paved the way for Common Core State Standards (CCSS). There’s no denying that your classroom today, provided you are a public school teacher, looks a lot different than it did 11 years ago. Furthermore, the increase in the number of charter schools since 2002 is also arguably a direct result of NCLB.

In 2002, no one had any idea how NCLB would really impact the classroom, just as we are only now beginning to understand how CCSS impacts the classroom.

Did NCLB make you a better teacher? Share your feelings about NCLB, CCSS, and education reform here at the Upper Grades Exchange.


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