The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is an education policy originally proposed by President George Bush in 2001. President Barrack Obama has since added changes in order to better educate our nation's students. The purpose of NCLB is to ensure that all children have the same rights to education. Every child, regardless of race, gender or location, should be able to obtain an equal education. The policy requires highly qualified teachers and annual state tests submitted to the government. The federal definition of “highly qualified teacher” requires the teacher to have state certification, having passed licensing exams. An elementary school teacher who is new to the field must have at least a bachelor's degree, have passed state tests, know the subject matter, and become proficient in reading, writing, math, and other areas of the elementary school core curriculum. A middle or secondary school teacher new to the field has the same requirements; however, they must also demonstrate high levels of proficiency in each of the academic subjects they intend to teach. Academic standards have been established for each state. The idea is to prepare students for college and the “real world.” This also creates an accountability system that recognizes student growth and academic progress (ESEA Reauthorization, 2010). With these goals established each state must ensure that all teachers are qualified as expected. This is to give all students fair and equal educational opportunities. However, each of these things works in favor of students who may be lacking or currently do not have access to a standard education. This does not apply to all students. As a parent of four school-age children...... middle of paper ......m. Retrieved July 6, 2011, from http://www.nochildleftbehind.com/.Mr. Obama and No Child Left Behind (2010, March 17). Nytimes.com Retrieved July 5, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/opinion/18thu1.htmlNCLB (n.d.). Greatschools.org. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from http://www.greatschools.org/definitions/or/nclb.htmlNo Child Left Behind. (2011). teacherscount.org. Retrieved July 5, 2011, from http://www.teacherscount.org/issues/nochild/index.shtml#forOverhauling No Child Left Behind. (2010, March 15). LAtimes.com. Retrieved July 5, 2011, from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/15/opinion/la-ed-nclb16-2010mar16.Understanding the API (2011, May). Ed-data.org. Retrieved July 16, 2011, from http://www.ed-data.org/App_Resx/EdDataClassic/fsTwoPanel.aspx?#!bottom=/_layouts/EdDataClassic/Articles/Article.asp?title=Understanding the API#API