Synopses & Reviews
The 2002 No Child Left Behind Act is the most important legislation in American education since the 1960s. The law requires states to put into place a set of standards together with a comprehensive testing plan designed to ensure these standards are met. Students at schools that fail to meet those standards may leave for other schools, and schools not progressing adequately become subject to reorganization. Its significance lies less with federal dollar contributions than with the direction it gives to school spending. It helps codify the movement toward common standards and school accountability.As the first scholarly assessment of the new legislation, No Child Left Behind? cuts new ground in the ongoing debate over accountability. Its contributors examine the law's origins, the politics surrounding its implementation, and its likely consequences for American education.Contributors include Andrew Rudalevige (Dickinson College), Frederick M. Hess (American Enterprise Institute), Terry M. Moe (Hoover Institution, Stanford University), Jennifer Hochschild (Harvard University), Eric A. Hanushek (Hoover Institution, Stanford University), Margaret E. Raymond (Hoover Institution, Stanford University), Thomas J. Kane (University of California, Los Angeles), Douglas O. Staiger (Dartmouth College), Tom Loveless (Brookings Institution), Julian R. Betts (University of California, San Diego), Anne Danenberg (Public Policy Institute of California), Thomas Dee (Swarthmore College), Anthony S. Bryk (University of Chicago), Brian A. Jacob (Harvard University), and Ludger Wvβ mann (Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich).
Synopsis
The 2002 No Child Left Behind Act is the most important legislation in American education since the 1960s. The law requires states to put into place a set of standards together with a comprehensive testing plan designed to ensure these standards are met. Students at schools that fail to meet those standards may leave for other schools, and schools not progressing adequately become subject to reorganization. The significance of the law lies less with federal dollar contributions than with the direction it gives to federal, state, and local school spending. It helps codify the movement toward common standards and school accountability. Yet NCLB will not transform American schools overnight. The first scholarly assessment of the new legislation, No Child Left Behind? breaks new ground in the ongoing debate over accountability. Contributors examine the laws origins, the political and social forces that gave it shape, the potential issues that will surface with its implementation, and finally, the laws likely consequences for American education.