No Child Left Behind?: The Politics and Practice of School Accountability

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 in federal dollar contributions than in 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, this book cuts new ground in the ongoing debate over accountability. The distingushed contributors examine the law's origins, the politics surrounding its implementation, and its likely consequences for American education.