Begun in 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was intended to prevent academic failures of educational institutions and individual students, as well as close achievement gaps among students . This act supports foundational standards of education reform across America; eager to improve the learning outcomes of America's youth. No Child Left Behind has led many to criticize the results of the law itself. Questions have arisen about the effectiveness of NCLB, as well as the implications for young Americans. Thesis The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 should be revised to allow for better accountability for student success, accountability for academic progress, and better flexibility for teachers. About “No Child Left Behind” Signed into law in 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 had broad bipartisan support. Implementing the belief that setting high achievement goals in education would produce increases in student success at the national, the law requires all states to develop assessments for all grade levels covering basic reading and mathematics skills. This in turn provides guarantees of federal funding for public schools that participate fully in this practice of the law is that every child reach their grade level in math and reading by 2014. It was based on the Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The ESEA established Title I programs, which became the first federal education aid programs supporting children in poor urban/rural areas (Gov Ed).Accountability for student success"Accountability for improving student achievement is at the heart of the ESEA debate (Jennings, 2010)." According to Jennings, we need to review how students progress in English language arts and math exercises… halfway through the task… positions. Teachers should be rewarded by success, not penalized by one-sided test results. In conclusion, the initial intentions of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) were to close the achievement gap between low-achieving students and their schools and counterparts; but along the way they failed to achieve many important aspects. Teachers have become numb to the reasons they initially wanted to be educators and have lost vision of how to implement instruction due to NCLB standards and the consequences of failing to meet those goals. Likewise, students must perform, many times, above their level to be labeled “adequate” by the federal government and their schools. In some cases, a disproportionate burden is placed on schools, teachers and students, all for the sake of what is federally considered average achievement.