Analysis of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and its Reauthorizations: The Subsequent Impact on Schools and Students

This research paper aims to analyze the intricacies of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as well as its reauthorizations, primarily No Child Left Behind (NCLB) with a brief look at the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Most attention will be placed on Title I of each piece of legislation. Accompanying the analysis will be insight and data examining the varied levels of success for each piece of legislation aimed at minimizing the achievement gap. The data will highlight graduation rates, test scores, dropout rates, adult literacy rates, school enrollment, etc. The research paper will analyze these items on a national scale, then it will direct its attention to Arizona schools. Charter schools will not be analyzed within the scope of this research paper. In exploring these details in terms of a specific state since ESEA's inception, the research paper hopes to better examine the effects of ESEA and perhaps suggest parallels to states nationwide. Since there are so many diverse factors in determining student and school success, it would be unwise to make concrete claims about these figures and whether they prove ESEA was a success or failure. However, the purpose of providing this data is to suggest possible relationships between these federal initiatives and student success. Furthermore, as a prior student and current teacher at a Title I school in Arizona, the author acknowledges that there is potential for bias and the perspective provided in this research paper may differ from that of the reader.