“The No Child Left Behind Act [NCLB] passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2001 and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002.”
“The Every Student Succeeds Act, [ESSA] signed into law Dec. 10, 2015, [to] replace NCLB.”
“NCLB was the product of a collaboration between civil rights and business groups, as well as both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill and the Bush administration, which sought to advance American competitiveness and close the achievement gap between poor and minority students and their more advantaged peers. Since 2002, it’s had an outsized impact on teaching, learning, and school improvement—and become increasingly controversial with educators and the general public.”
The source of the above excerpts: Education Week https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/no-child-left-behind-an-overview/2015/04 and https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/the-every-student-succeeds-act-an-essa-overview/2016/03.