The No Child Left Behind Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2001. The main goals of the act are to measure student performance on a school by school basis, provide assistance to struggling schools and offer parents local educational choices when schools fail to meet state designed goals for students in reading and math. Even though all schools are tested, the law has the biggest effect on schools with a large number of students coming from low-income families.

The key component of the law is testing all students for competency in math and reading in the early and middle grades. The tests are designed and administered by the individual states, which then make the results public, often on local school district websites as well as state department of education websites. States and school districts are also required to inform parents in writing of their own children’s individual test scores as well as the test averages for their local school.

Schools are required to not only pass the state tests, but show what is called Adequate Yearly Performance (AYP). This means schools must show increasing test scores every year and hit higher and higher targets for passing. The penalties for failing to meet state targets or achieve AYP are designed to increase over the course of several years.

If a school fails to meet state targets or does not show Adequate Yearly Performance for several years in a row, they will be required to develop an improvement plan, low-income students may be offered extra assistance in learning and parents may be offered the choice to send their children to higher achieving schools. Schools that fail to meet state testing standards or to achieve AYP after five years can be forced to change their entire staff, close, or be taken over by their state department of education or a private company.

If you feel your child and his or her school is struggling, contact your child’s teacher and principal to express your concerns and work with them to develop a plan for success. If your child attends a school with a large number of low-income children, he or she could be eligible for free tutoring and mentoring programs. Parents should also ask their local school district about educational alternatives, including magnet schools and charter schools. Staying involved in a child’s education is a best way any parent can help them succeed.