美國教育改革是建立在績效責任的前提上，《不讓任何孩子落後》法案（No Child Left Behind Act, NCLB）是如此，其前身《初等與中等教育法》（Elementary and Secondary Act, ESEA）也是如此。這是源於教育改革已經積極追求標準的達成，與傳統績效責任系統講求的師生比、註冊率、中輟率等人口數據相較，新績效責任是以學生學習成效為績效評定的基礎。績效的講求方面，政府、學界與民間雖各有意見，但都有教育必須考量績效的共識。本文先介紹《不讓任何孩子落後》法案政策的內涵與新績效責任理論，再進一步說明具有新績效責任精神的教改政策－美國的《不讓任何孩子落後》法案實施十年來所產生的問題，並以《不讓任何孩子落後》法案主要的績效責任項目「年度充分進步指數」（Adequate Yearly Progress, AYP）、「高度適任教師」（High Qualified Teacher, HQT）及《不讓任何孩子落後》法案家長教育選擇權來說明達成績效的困難之處以及學校、家長、學生可能面臨的問題與遭遇。最後，提出研究結論與建議，期對國內的教育改革提供有價值的參考。

The American education reform is based on the concept of accountability, which is also the foundation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It has shifted the traditional approaches to actively pursuing the standards reached (standards-based reform). The traditional accountability system emphasized population data such as student-teacher ratio, enrollment rates, and dropout rates; on the other hand, the new accountability focuses on the student learning outcomes (student performance) as a basis for performance evaluation. Although the government, scholars, and civics hold different views on the aspects of performance, they share similar perspectives on the role of accountability in school education. This review covers the introduction of the NCLB policies and the new accountability theory, then discusses the problems and challenges after a decade of NCLB policies in the United States. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) and NCLB Choice Provision are used as examples to elaborate the further concerns that may be raised by the NCLB policies. This study concludes that while well-meaning, some NCLB policies were not practical. Research suggests that a reviewing and assessing mechanisms should be established for education reforms, utilizing a credible research system and focusing accountability on student growth, in order to provide valuable reference for education reform in Taiwan.