In this essay, former secretary of education Rod Paige depicts the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as the culmination of more than half a century of urgent but largely unheeded calls for reform of the nation’s public education system. He explains the rationale for the design of NCLB and responds to several criticisms of the legislation, including the notion that it is a one-size-fits-all mandate and that its improvement targets are unrealistic. He further argues that the nation’s public schools must become more responsive to the needs of students and their families in order to remain viable. Finally, he contends that subsequent reauthorizations should stay true to NCLB’s original goal of holding school systems accountable for equipping all students with the academic skills on which America’s future depends.

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Rod Paige is currently chairman of Chartwell Education Group LLC, a global education consulting firm based in New York City and Washington, D.C. He served as the seventh U.S. secretary of education, from 2001 through 2005, and was the first former school superintendent to hold this position. As secretary of education, Paige oversaw the creation, authorization, and implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. A former teacher and coach, Paige has also served as dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University and as a board of education member and superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. In 2001, the American Association of School Administrators named him National Superintendent of the Year. Paige has also been a public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.