PARCC
Before No Child Left Behind, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965 as a part of the "War on Poverty". In hopes of diminishing the achievement gap, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed to create equal opportunity and access to education through high standards and accountability. These standards and accountability techniques came in the form of standardized testing. For the first time, federal money was being sent into local schools and made the production of test-based evidence mandatory for all educators. Standards were being assessed on these state-created exams, and local schools were then accountable to perform on these exams. In 2002, Congress re-examined ESEA and reauthorized it as No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
Department of Education Organization Act
Congress established the United States Department of Education (ED) with the Department of Education Organization Act. Under the law, ED's mission is to:In the Senate, 69 voted in favor and 22 voted against separating education from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In the House of Representatives, 215 voted in favor and 201 voted against. President Carter signed the bill on October 17, 1979.