In 2001, a bill called the No Child Left Behind Act was passed into law. Former President George W. Bush was in office when this bill became law. He made the final signing to make the bill into law. This law was created at a time of national concern over the academic standards of schools in the United States. This requires all public schools to test their students annually in reading, math and science. The goal of this law was for every school to achieve academic proficiency during the 2013-2014 school year (Education Week). Even though the NCLB law was supposed to be helpful and ensure better education for students, it puts immense pressure on students, suppresses teachers' creativity, has made a difference everywhere, some places have had positive differences and some have had negative ones , and it has inspired future bills that are equally well-intentioned, but not well-intentioned enough to make a positive difference anywhere. The pressure placed on today's public school students is incredible. Principals and school counselors enter classrooms and educate students about the importance of doing their best on these assessments. They explain that if the class as a whole doesn't reach a certain goal, then the school and teachers are in trouble and losing money (Terry). Principals know the importance of informing students of the challenges they may face if they do not make an effort to achieve well. What they may not realize is that even if their message gets through to students, they may take it a little too much to heart and feel like they have to be perfect for their school to not be closed. As a student who had the experience of being told the consequences of not being p... middle of paper ...... arts that needed to be worked on. The No Child Left Behind law was supposed to help, but instead it added stress to the lives of young students, stifled creative teaching styles, made a whole host of differences from excellent achievement to closing schools, and has sparked a future of bills that will only improve certain parts of the nation's education. When all of these factors are taken into account, it can be seen that although the NCLB law was intended to be beneficial, it created some very negative consequences. Works Cited “NCLB is making a difference in Kansas.” No child left behind. Np, and Web. December 1, 2013. “No Child Left Behind.” Education Week. Np, August 4, 2004. Web. December 1, 2013. “No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) | ESEA”. National Education Association. Np, and Web. November 30, 2013.Terry, Nickolas. “NCLBA Investigation.” Investigation. December 2, 2013. Trussell, Pam. Personal interview. December 2. 2013.