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The article discusses Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama on December 10, 2015 as a reauthorization of the 1985 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Topics discussed include comparison between ESSA and the 2002 No Child Left Behind and the Common Core Standards. Also mentioned are ESSA presenting new opportunities for teacher-led professional growth as well as Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray as primary architects of ESSA.

An article discussing changes in educational policy following the U.S. government's education stimulus package is presented. Examining legislation such as the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the author notes a shift from traditional quality-based teacher assessments such as number of degrees held, to more holistic assessments which address a number of factors in measuring teacher effectiveness, including meeting student needs and increasing student success rates. Seven key obstacles facing education reform, including shortcomings with traditional assessment tools and tests, and teacher assessments which fail to account for circumstances the teachers cannot control, such as facility problems and access to computers, are also included.

The author asserts that as the 2007 reauthorization of the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act unfolds in the fall of 2006, it is imperative that educators and policymakers consider the effect of No Child Left Behind testing requirements on students and schools. He presents recommendations based on a Wisconsin Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development survey developed to research the impact of the fall 2005 Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam testing period. He presents determined opportunity costs related to instructional and staff time, referring to what schools might have accomplished with this time were they not devoted to testing. Testing costs are categorized into three areas: preparation, test administration, and loss of services and instructional time.

The author writes on behalf of the U.S. National Education Association (NEA), asserting that it strongly supports both the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the No Child Left Behind's (NCLB) stated goals to improve student achievement. However, the NEA determines that NCLB is flawed because of its one-size-fits-all system for evaluation, and that it is incomplete in that it fails to provide the tools and resources that educators and students need to accomplish its goals. To help NCLB achieve its goals, the NEA proposes the following changes: insist on meaningful accountability, support quality educators in every classroom, promote smaller class sizes, enhance family and community involvement, provide adequate resources, and replace punitive mandates with positive support.

The article presents a timeline of educational law and legislation in the U.S. leading up to the establishment and implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). It begins with the year 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was enacted to provide money to help low-income students. Other highlighted years include 1968, when Congress added the Bilingual Education Act to ESEA, and 2002, when President George W. Bush signed NCLB into law. It also includes projections into 2014.