You’re asking about the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB).
This was a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002.
Key features of NCLB included:
- Accountability: It placed a strong emphasis on standardized testing and holding schools accountable for student performance. Schools were required to make "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) in reading and math.
- Testing: Annual standardized tests were mandated for students in grades 3-8 and once in high school.
- School Choice: If a school failed to meet AYP for multiple years, students were offered the option to transfer to a higher-performing public school or receive supplemental educational services.
- Highly Qualified Teachers: It required all teachers to be "highly qualified," meaning they had a bachelor’s degree, full state certification, and demonstrated subject matter competency.
- Reading First: It promoted research-based reading instruction programs.
Criticisms and eventual replacement:
NCLB faced significant criticism for its perceived overemphasis on testing, its punitive approach to struggling schools, and its unfunded mandates. Eventually, it was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, which provided more flexibility to states in how they design their accountability systems.
So, if you’re thinking of a major federal education law from the early 2000s focused on accountability and testing, it’s almost certainly the No Child Left Behind Act.