The five-year anniversary: Nina Rees assesses NCLB.

Five years have passed since President Bush enacted the No Child Left Behind law, and while progress is being made towards achieving its goals, the jury is still out on how it might be reauthorized and implemented in the coming years.

Nina Rees, one of the law's chief architects and former assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education, shares her perspective on the real-world implementation of the law and the impact it has had on America's education system. She now serves as senior vice president for strategic initiatives at the Knowledge Universe Learning Group, a Santa Monica-based company that invests in education products and services.

DA: What impact has NCLB had so far on the education system?

Rees: While the standards and accountability movement has been around since the 1980s, NCLB is the first attempt at the federal level to encourage districts to measure student progress on an annual basis against these standards and to hold schools accountable to ensure that all children (regardless of race or income) meet their state's standards. But NCLB's greatest contribution has been the focus it has brought on the need and urgency to close the achievement gap.

DA: Is the achievement gap between whites and minorities really closing? Is it widening?

Rees: At this stage it is difficult to say. It definitely isn't widening. More sophisticated research and investments at the federal level are necessary to really address this.

DA: Are the bill's parental choice provisions--school transfer option and free tutoring programs--working?

Rees: To some extent. While less than one percent of the eligible students are participating in choice, more than 450,000 students (or nearly 20 percent of eligible students) are participating in supplemental educational services. There is definitely room for improvement. Districts need more resources and capacity to educate parents about how to make good choices.

DA: How will the new Democratic majority factor into reauthorization?

Rees: This is a good time to reauthorize the law, given that many of the original framers of the bill are still in leadership roles (Senator Kennedy, Congressman Miller and President Bush). I am not sure if the changes in party leadership will have a huge impact, though it will be interesting to see how leaders in both parties can bring their members to align around reauthorization without making too many fundamental changes to the law.

DA: What will be the focus of renewing the law?

Rees: Strengthening math and science skills is a priority, and expanding the law to high schools is also something that needs to be worked out. Growth models, to credit individual students progressing forward rather than only tracking student progress based on hitting benchmarks, will also be a hot topic.

DA: How might NCLB be reworked to address our nation's failing high schools?

Rees: Business community groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable are working towards this goal and are heavily focused on high school reform. The quality of students who graduate and compete in the workforce are big concerns. How exactly the law will be expanded is unclear. Keeping the framework of NCLB intact while expanding the law at the same time is a huge task.