The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2002 kicked off the Bush administration's push to improve the quality of education in the United States. With an emphasis on improving school accountability and performance across the country through ongoing monitoring and assessment, the NCLBA intends to make quality education available to every child in the country, regardless of their socio-economic status.

School accountability
All over the country, kids are taking standardized tests in school that are designed to measure each school's effectiveness in providing a quality education. Annual test results are used to track student progress in key areas and those results are reported to each school district's constituents in an annual "report card."

Student achievement (or lack thereof) is considered to be indicative of the quality of the teachers and the curriculum being taught. While this testing certainly has its controversy, its purpose is to identify underperforming schools and target them for restructuring and funding to improve the quality of education they provide. Essentially, it is CQI for the American Education System — Continuous Quality Improvement.

School choice
The NCLBA requires underperforming school districts to offer alternatives to their students. This includes the option of attending any other age-appropriate public school within the district (including charter schools) that the student may wish to attend. Schools are required to tell parents about this AND pay for transportation if needed.

If a school continues to underperform after two or more years of assessment, students from low-income families are eligible to receive free supplemental services. These could include tutoring or other academic services from an agency or individual of your choice, as long as they are supplied by a state-approved provider. Choices range from faith-based organizations to private schools or community groups.

Taking school choice one step further
For disadvantaged or low-income students, attending another school may not be a viable option for a number of reasons. However, the Bush administration has taken the option of school choice one step further by introducing America's Opportunity Scholarships as part of the NCLBA. An additional $100 million was made available to cover the cost of this program through earmarked grants to school districts.

For low-income families with children attending a school that has made inadequate progress for six or more years, these scholarships are available in the form of direct aid of up to $4,000 to help pay the costs of attending a private school of their choice. If they don't wish to place their child in a private school, they may be able to receive up to $3,000 instead for long-term intensive tutoring.

These scholarships are an important step towards expanding the school choice options that are available, particularly for disadvantaged students. Many school districts have difficulty providing better performing schools within their own districts, which greatly limits the educational opportunities for students in some areas of the country. These scholarships may enable more students to improve the quality of their education via private resources and greatly improve their chances of obtaining a college education and to secure a better future for themselves.