No Child Left Behind and Reading First

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, signed by President Bush in 2002, has required each state to develop and implement an accountability and assessment system to ensure that all districts and schools in the state make adequate yearly progress. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a US law passed in December 2015 that governs the country's K–12 public education policy.The law replaced its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and modified but did not eliminate provisions relating to the periodic standardized tests given to students. Like the No Child Left Behind Act, ESSA is a reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which established the American federal government's expanded role in funding public education.

The assessment system must include measurement of progress in reading and language arts, mathematics, and science. Each state must set a timetable showing that the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency in reading, math, and science will increase until there is "no child left behind." When this legislation was passed, the State of Florida already had such a system based on the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA). Section 1008 (4), Florida Statutes, requires that student performance and achievement be assessed. All district school boards must report assessment results. The Florida Standards Assessment and other tests used in the school districts play a key role in determining what students will be taught and how they will be assessed.

Florida is also involved in the Reading First program of NCLB. Reading First grants assist Florida school districts and schools in implementing proven methods of scientifically based reading instruction in kindergarten through Grade 3 classrooms in order to prevent reading difficulties. Districts awarded Reading First grants must select and administer screening, diagnostic, progress-monitoring, and outcome reading assessments to determine which K-3 students are at risk of reading failure. In the 2005-06 school year, 44 of Florida's 67 school districts had some schools participating in Reading First. Although not every elementary school is a Reading First school, many schools have elected to adopt the assessment policies of Reading First.

Tests of reading used in Reading First schools must meet high standards of reliability and validity. Typically, the informal inventories developed by teachers or contained in reading programs do not meet these standards but they may still be appropriate and meaningful additions to assessments required by Reading First.