Q. What is No Child Left Behind?
A. The law, adopted in 2001, requires annual state tests in reading and mathematics for every child in grades three through eight. Public schools whose scores fail to meet targets two years in a row face consequences that get more severe each year a school falls short. The law requires that schools raise the percentage of students proficient in reading and math to 100 percent within 12 years — which is this year. It hasn’t happened.