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In 1849, five-year-old Sarah Roberts was trying to go to the Smith Grammar school, and passed all of these great schools made only for white children. Her father tried to enroll Sarah into one of these schools, but she was denied admission. Her father would challenge this ruling, and they would eventually start the change for desegregated schools.
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During World War I, attendance in public schools went through the roof, and standardized tests started to emerge. They were needed to help classify if the recruits for the war were intellectual or not. These tests helped shape our current curriculum, and helped adjust the way we test how students are performing in school.
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Over 100 years after Roberts v. City of Boston, another case arouse this time in Topeka, Kansas. A group of African American children living in the area filed a suit demanding they be allowed to enroll in public schools that serve white children. The Supreme Court agreed with their suit, and it started the process of desegregating American schools.
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During President George W. Bush's term, he passed the "No Child Left Behind" Act. This act was passed to work with federal legislators to help bring additional aid to schools. Even though they had strict criteria for schools, this act helped bring in additional resources that school's never had before.
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During President Barack Obama's term, he passed the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." This act was passed to provide schools funding that were struggling after the "No Child Left Behind" Act. It helped provide funding to prevent teacher layoffs, improve teacher effectiveness, and it helped improve schools that were underperforming.
