ECS Report to the Nation: State Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act

Education Commission of States (ECS) Report to the Nation: State Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act

This groundbreaking report contains information you won't find anywhere else about how implementation of NCLB is playing out in states. It includes results from ECS' comprehensive database, which tracks and reports state implementation activity on 40 NCLB indicators; trends within and across states; issues and challenges facing states; and recommendations. The report is organized around the seven major categories of the law’s requirements. Each of the seven sections provides a look at:

How States Are Doing – graphics summarizing the progress and extent of implementation efforts

What States Are Doing – examples of policy approaches within and across states and some state highlights

Issues and Challenges – a review of emerging issues and major difficulties facing states.

ECS’ analysis of NCLB implementation efforts shows that states have made considerable progress, particularly over the past year. As of March 2004:

All 50 states had met or were partially on track to meeting half of the 40 NCLB requirements being tracked by ECS – an 11% increase over March 2003.

All but two states and the District of Columbia had met or were partially on track to meeting 75% of the requirements – an impressive 109% increase over March 2003.

Five states – Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania – had met or were partially on track to meeting all 40 NCLB requirements.

It also outlines some challenges and ways to address them. Some of the challenges are:

few states are on track to implementing high quality professional development for all teachers;

only 10 states appear fully on track to ensuring that both new and veteran teachers are qualified to teach in their subject areas;

fewer than half the states are on track to making sure that scientifically based technical assistance is provided to low-performing schools; and

many states do not have in place the technical infrastructure needed to collect, disaggregate and report data at the school, district and state levels.

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is an interstate compact created in 1965 to improve public education by facilitating the exchange of information, ideas and experiences among state policymakers and education leaders. As a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization involving key leaders from all levels of the education system, ECS creates unique opportunities to build partnerships, share information and promote the development of policy based on available research and strategies.

In early 2003, ECS researchers, working in conjunction with state policymakers and their staffs, began building a database, www.ecs.org/NCLBdatabase, that eventually developed into the most comprehensive and detailed source of information on states’ progress toward implementing NCLB.

The database provides a series of snapshots – from March 2003 through March 2004 – showing where each state (and the District of Columbia) stands with regard to implementing seven categories of NCLB requirements: standards and assessments, adequate yearly progress, school improvement, supplemental services, safe schools, report cards and teacher quality. These snapshots offer a rich data set (some 2,040 time-sensitive indicators) for analyzing activity among the states. Together, they provide a solid foundation for identifying trends occurring across the nation.