The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), is a wide ranging law meant to provide support to schools in high poverty areas, among other things. Since 2001, NCLB’s accountability provisions have applied to all public schools in the U.S. These provisions require that students be assessed on a regular basis, their scores be disaggregated by category – economic disadvantage, race and ethnicity, disabilities, and limited English proficiency – and the overall and subgroup scores reported through school, district, and state “report cards.” The goal is to have all students in the U.S. score at “proficiency” level on these tests by 2012.
Statute: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html
Regulations: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/reg/edpicks.jhtml?src=ln