Researchers have summarized findings on schools’ progress in putting into practice the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act in a new brief from the RAND Corp.
With financial support from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, the research team conducted three studies tracking the implementation of the measure, which was signed into law in January 2002. They found that, while NCLB generally has spurred educational changes across the country, it also has led to a fragmented accountability system, with states setting widely varying academic expectations for students.
To create a more effective schooling system for the nation, the researchers say that Congress, in reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, should promote more uniform academic standards and teacher-quality requirements across states; set more appropriate improvement targets and ones that incorporate alternative accountability approaches; broaden test measures to include more subjects; and offer incentives for teachers to teach in low-performing schools, among other recommendations.
