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).
Federal involvement in US education
During and immediately after the war, the federal government contributed money to districts unduly burdened by military instillations. During this time, some began to believe that schools could no longer adequately provide for themselves. The Brown v. Board ruling aided this viewpoint in that the federal government had to get involved in making sure that all individuals were protected. This, along with the “urban crisis” happening in the US, led the federal government to pass one of its most long lasting and impactful pieces of education legislation, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. A general subsidy for education with a series of provisions states must follow, the ESEA thrust the Federal government into the education policy picture.