NCLB requires that students in grades three through eight receive yearly assessments in math and reading/language arts, while students in 10th through 12th grades must have such assessments once during their high school career. In addition, students must undergo science assessments at least once in elementary, middle and high school. The act doesn't mandate that every state administer the same test, nor does it require specific exams. In addition, parents have the right to request that their child not participate in any federal or state assessment.
No Child Left Behind guidelines also require states to generate individual academic reports. Teachers analyze student data to plan teaching strategies, while parents review student data as a way to monitor yearly academic growth and compare their child's scores to other students' scores.
States analyze academic growth of students in three subgroups: children with disabilities, children who speak English as their second language, and students living in low-income families. Students in these groups--the NCLB's main focus for change--often struggle in school.
The NCLB requires schools to measure academic growth through an Adequate Yearly Progress goal. States determine the AYP requirements each year, report the goals to all school districts, and identify and inform districts whether they have met the requirements. Schools that fail to meet AYP goals for two or more consecutive years earn a label of "school improvement," "corrective action" or "restructuring," based on how long the school has failed to meet AYP goals. Such schools may require "state interventions," according to the National Governors Association.
The No Child Left Behind Act challenges all students, with the help of parents and teachers, to read with understanding and successfully solve math problems at grade level by the year 2014. In doing so, the Department of Education aims "to close the achievement gap" between the struggling subgroups and those students meeting academic standards.