No Child Left Behind 1

Running head: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

The Impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on the K-8 Setting

Kara Robertson

A Senior Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for graduation

in the Honors Program

Liberty University

Fall 2009

No Child Left Behind 2

Acceptance of Senior Honors Thesis

This Senior Honors Thesis is accepted in partial

fulfillment of the requirements for graduation from the

Honors Program of Liberty University.

______________________________

Shanté Moore-Austin, Ph.D.

Thesis Chair

______________________________

Janice DeLong, M.Ed.

Committee Member

______________________________

Connie McDonald, Ph.D.

Committee Member
As a result, the NCLB Act requires that after the 2005-2006 school year all teachers are to be highly qualified in the core academic subjects. This means that teachers must “have at least a bachelor’s degree and demonstrate competencies in each content area as defined by their state” (Simpson et al., 2004, p. 70). For new teachers, it means passing challenging state exams in order to be allowed into the classroom. Practicing teachers are also required to pass these state exams or are asked to demonstrate competency in each content area.

No Child Left Behind has truly impacted the K-8 setting because educators and students are being held accountable to meet a certain set of standards presented by the federal government. An article in Intervention in School and Clinic states, “The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is potentially the most significant educational initiative to have been enacted in decades” (Simpson et al., 2004, p. 67). NCLB has completely changed the K-8 classroom setting in regards to curriculum, instruction, and teaching strategies.

Operational Definitions

There are two operational definitions that must be described here to assist in the understanding of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Accountability. Accountability is the concept that each state set standards for the type and amount of information students know and learn. Children are tested yearly and the scores are reported to