Effectively, the Act requires the development of basic skills assessments, critical towards receiving federal education funding (CQ Press, 2005).This is in addition to continuously giving these assessments to all students at various select grade levels, with each state developing individual standards.
The utility of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standardized examinations is viewed as a pertinent requirement of all states in the U.S. This is aimed at achieving the critical purpose of NCLB that entails having all American students achieve proficiency in mathematics and reading by the year 2014. Accordingly, as founded under pertinent legislation, individual states are tasked with the setting of their individual standards, which students in public schools need to achieve. Through measurement of such student progress, states are thereafter able to solicit for federal funding, based on achievement of set standards (CQ Press, 2005).
The requirement that all schools need to publish scores attained for the public to view enables parents to decide on the best education avenues through which their children can progress through. In case of contexts where schools continuously fail to meet these standards, pertinent measures are taken towards improving the schooling system present. These include utility of summer schooling and tutoring programs, or overall system restructuring if need be (New America Foundation, 2014). The AYP standardized examinations are critical towards measurement of individual and student-group progress.
According to New America Foundation (2014), this is in reference to proficiency in mathematics and reading, which is essential in qualifying students for advancement to higher levels of learning. Critically so, these examinations are unique to individual states, given that there exists no national achievement standards.