The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is currently being reviewed in Congress for reauthorization. NCLB, among the most significant U.S. education initiatives, reauthorized the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act and is founded on four primary objectives: (1) increasing accountability for states, school districts, and schools; (2) giving parents and students greater flexibility in terms of transferring to another public school if the current school is not making adequate yearly progress; (3) increasing flexibility to decide how best to use federal education funds awarded to schools in recognition of strong state test results; and (4) promoting the President's Reading First initiative in support of high-quality reading instruction programs designed to give children the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in school and beyond. NCLB's goal is to boost student achievement in grades 3 through 8 in reading and mathematics by 2014 nationwide. The author believes that NCLB has served a very useful purpose in that the legislation has focused substantially more attention on improving public education in the United States by requiring states to adopt rigorous standards and testing for schools and school districts. Indeed, NCLB standards and testing have generated a great deal of media attention and, to a lesser extent, so have the sanctions imposed on schools and school districts that are not making adequate yearly progress. When enacted, the intended outcome of NCLB was to ensure that every child in public school has equal access to a high-quality education and, in the process, raise the achievement level of all elementary and secondary school students. Thus, the author states that before reaching any final conclusions about the merits of NCLB everybody needs a more complete assessment--which is why the current education reform debate in Congress is so important. (Contains 2 resources.)