The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President

Bush in January 2002. It uses standardized tests as a barometer of

a school’s progress, charting whether students are achieving

federal goals.

Iowa already uses the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Iowa

Tests of Educational Development, which comply with the federal

mandate.

If a school fails to meet adequate yearly progress for two

consecutive years, it is identified as “in need of improvement.”

Ideally, this means the district will refocus its efforts and

receive additional resources and technical assistance.

After three years, students from low-income families must be

offered the opportunity to receive supplemental instruction

services, such as tutoring, from a provider of choice.

After four years, more drastic measures can be taken,’ such as

implementing a new curriculum, decreasing management authority at

the school, extending the school year or day, replacing staff or

appointing an outside expert.

After five years, well, “major restructuring” will occur, to the

level of school closing.

The trouble is, all of this — from technical assistance to

“major restructuring” — requires funding at a time when most

states that are strapped for cash are dipping into rainy-day funds

and slashing education budgets. The federal government is the only

place school districts can look.

It’s disheartening when the funding is nowhere to be found.

There was a funding shortfall of more than $4 billion in the

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill

last year, which obviously hindered the government’s ability to

provide assistance for the tests and corrections it has

mandated.

According to CNN, in fiscal years 2002 through the current 2004,

Congress authorized between $26.4 billion and $32 billion to be

spent on the “No Child Left Behind” initiative. Although Bush’s

budget request rose in each of those years, it still fell far short

of the authorization.

In the past two fiscal years, the president’s request of about

$22 billion was less than what Congress had appropriated the year

before.

So when President Bush pledged his commitment to No Child Left

Behind last week, all educators could do was hope and pray for the

future.