NCLB General Principles 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which law replaced NCLB in 2015 and shifted more authority back to states?
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (Correct answer)
- Race to the Top Act
- Common Core Federal Standards Act
- Student Success and Opportunity Act
Correct answer: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed in December 2015, replaced NCLB and gave states significantly more flexibility in accountability systems.
Question 2: A major criticism of NCLB was that it led to 'teaching to the test.' What does this phrase mean?
- Narrowing curriculum to focus primarily on tested subjects and formats (Correct answer)
- Providing teachers with advance copies of test questions
- Assigning students to tracks based on predicted test performance
- Using test scores as the sole measure of teacher evaluation
Correct answer: Narrowing curriculum to focus primarily on tested subjects and formats
Teaching to the test refers to reducing instructional breadth to emphasize only subjects and skills covered by standardized assessments, often at the expense of untested subjects.
Question 3: Under NCLB, which students were permitted to be assessed using alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards?
- Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities (Correct answer)
- All students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
- English language learners in their first year
- Students performing two or more grade levels below their peers
Correct answer: Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities
Only students with the most significant cognitive disabilities could be assessed with alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards, capped at approximately 1% of all students.
Question 4: What was the '1% cap' under NCLB related to?
- The maximum percentage of students who could be assessed on alternate achievement standards and count as proficient (Correct answer)
- The annual budget increase allowed for Title I programs
- The maximum AYP improvement required in any single year
- The percentage of schools that could receive restructuring waivers
Correct answer: The maximum percentage of students who could be assessed on alternate achievement standards and count as proficient
NCLB limited to 1% of all tested students the number who could take alternate assessments and have those scores counted as proficient for AYP purposes.
Question 5: Which NCLB provision required states to notify parents when their child's teacher was not 'highly qualified'?
- The teacher quality notification requirement
- The Parent Right-to-Know provision (Correct answer)
- The Educator Transparency Mandate
- The School Report Card disclosure rule
Correct answer: The Parent Right-to-Know provision
NCLB's Parent Right-to-Know provision required schools to notify parents if their child was being taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who did not meet the highly qualified standard.
Question 6: Under NCLB, what minimum participation rate in testing was required for a school's scores to count toward AYP?
- 95% of all students and each subgroup (Correct answer)
- 90% of all students and each subgroup
- 85% of all students overall
- 100% of enrolled students
Correct answer: 95% of all students and each subgroup
NCLB required that at least 95% of all students and each student subgroup participate in state assessments for AYP calculations to be valid.
Question 7: What federal principle did NCLB reinforce by requiring states to develop their own standards rather than adopting national ones?
- Federalism and state sovereignty over education (Correct answer)
- Separation of church and state in public schools
- Equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment
- Free speech rights of students and teachers
Correct answer: Federalism and state sovereignty over education
By leaving standard-setting to states, NCLB preserved the constitutional principle of federalism, recognizing that education is primarily a state responsibility.
NCLB General Principles 5
Which law replaced NCLB in 2015 and shifted more authority back to states?