Education reform in the United States and the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act

The purpose of this policy analysis was to explore the implications of educational reform in the United States specifically as it relates to economically disadvantaged and minority students who have traditionally performed below academic standards. The researcher focuses on the graduation rates of low-income students from high school and the impact legislation such as NCLB has had on increasing this rate and closing the achievement gap in education. Existing literature will be used to analyze the No Child Left Behind Act. The analysis offered a historical and legislative review of previous educational policies implemented in the United States. This policy analysis determined that NCLB addresses and attempts to correct the educational disparities among economically disadvantaged and minority groups that have been overlooked by previous educational legislation. It also addressed the impact of the NCLB Act on the American education system and that education reform continues in the United States today because of the achievement gap in various comminutes and the need for closing this gap will help America to remain competitive in today's world.