Final answer:
The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in 2002, aimed to support academic success for all students by tying test results to federal funding, but over time faced criticism for its prescriptive measures. It was reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.
Step-by-step explanation:
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush in January 2002. This act was a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and represented a significant move towards ensuring that students, regardless of their background, received the support they needed to succeed academically. The law required states to test students in specific grades, and these tests' results were tied to federal funding eligibility. Federal funding could be cut if schools failed to meet the Act's standards. However, over time, NCLB faced criticism for its "one size fits all" approach to education and its burdensome requirements for schools. It was eventually reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by President Obama in December 2015.