NCLB / Title I

Research on the civil rights implications of federal policies like the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it's 2001 reauthorization known as No Child Left Behind, or Title I of ESEA.

The Unraveling of No Child Left Behind

A fundamental problem with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as reauthorization approaches is that what once seemed a clear if highly controversial policy has now become a set of bargains and treaties with various states.

NCLB Meets School Realities: Lessons From the Field

Based on data from 6 states and 11 districts, this essential resource helps educators understand the issues raised by NCLB and its implications for educating all children.

Teacher Quality: Equalizing Educational Opportunities and Outcomes

NCLB establishes the important goal of having a high quality teacher in every classroom, yet it does not provide the policies, support, or flexibility needed to meet this goal. By failing to recognize the local labor needs and differences in state policy context, some districts will have a more difficult time meeting these requirements than others. There is also the real potential that the negative consequences of the NCLB high stakes accountability policies will create a more negative teaching environment and contribute to teachers wanting to leave, either the profession or those schools serving the most disadvantaged students.

Limited English Proficient Students: Increased Accountability Under NCLB

This policy brief provides information for practitioners and policymakers on how the NCLB requirements affect LEP students and their schools and explores some of the unintended consequences of the legislation. Although both Title I3 and Title III4 of NCLB apply to LEP students, this brief focuses on the accountability provisions outlined in Title I, which have generated the most controversy. The brief is divided into three sections. The first section summarizes the NCLB Title I accountability requirements that specifically affect LEP students. The next section answers commonly asked questions about the legislation and LEP students. A final section defines issues that need to be considered as the conversation about NCLB and LEP students continues.

Listening to Teachers: Classroom Realities and No Child Left Behind

Teachers believed their schools have high standards and that the curriculum in their school was of high quality and linked to academic standards. They believed teachers in their schools were working hard to provide quality instruction, were dedicated to improving student achievement, and were accepting of accountability if it was based on a system that fairly measured instructional performance. They think their schools can improve more.

Does NCLB Provide Good Choices for Students in Low-Performing Schools?

We examine the number of students who requested transfers and were offered the opportunity to move to a different school; explore the actual schooling options available to students attending schools that were required to offer choice; and analyze the constraints districts faced in complying with the regulations governing the NCLB transfer option

Expansion of Federal Power in American Education: Federal-State Relationships Under the No Child Left Behind Act, Year One

The No Child Left Behind Act is a startling departure from this history, both in terms of its requirements and in terms of its sponsors. It requires specific large changes in the basic assessment systems of states, sets requirements for education progress in two specific subjects only, contains unusual and large sanctions, and commands many forms of specific state action. It clearly moves to the very heart of the educational process. When the fate of schools and faculties rests solely on achieving a nationally specified rate of progress on two tests, those tests will drive curriculum and instruction in the schools that are clearly at risk, and, in this way, the federal mandates will control the center of the educational process.