abbreviated in print as NCLB and sometimes shortened in pronunciation to "nickel bee,"
is a controversial United States federal law (Act of Congress; co-authored by
Democratic Rep. George Miller of California and Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts) that reauthorized a number of federal programs aiming to
improve the performance of U.S. primary and secondary schools by increasing the
standards of accountability for states, school districts, and schools in addition to
providing parents more flexibility in choosing which schools their children will attend.
Additionally, NCLB promoted an increased focus on reading and re-authorized the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The Elementary and Secondary
School Act, designed by Commissioner of Education Francis Keppel, was passed on
April 9, 1965, less than three months after it was introduced. This piece of legislation
constituted the most important educational component of the 'War on Poverty' launched
by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Through special funding (Title I), this piece of
legislation also allocated large resources to meet the needs of educationally deprived
children, especially through compensatory programs for the poor (Johnson, 1966).
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was developed under the principle
of redress, which established that children from low-income homes required more