The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) demands from the American public school system that all students, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, must be held to the same academic expectations, and that their academic progress must be measured using a newly refined concept of adequate yearly progress (AYP). Success in complying with the law will no longer be based on whether a state has created academic standards and testing, but rather on how well its students are doing in making real progress toward meeting these standards. The new system has a built-in "specific ambiguity," whereby states have significantly flexibility in developing state accountability systems and general program administration. States can thus experiment with their specific implementation of AYP within constraints set by the law. Academic achievement standards must describe basic, proficient, and advanced levels of achievement, and utilize them for all groups of students to prevent failing groups from being hidden. Schools that do not make adequate yearly progress for 2 consecutive years will be identified as needing improvement, with corrective action being taken after 4 years of failure. Schools that make or exceed AYP may receive special awards, and their teachers may receive financial awards. (Contains 12 references.) (RT)