No State Left Behind: The Challenges and Opportunities of ESEA 2001 MS Word PDF - ECS' detailed summary of No Child Left Behind also looks at states' readiness to implement provisions of the law and provides key questions for policymakers to consider. (Education Commission of the States, February 2002)

Comparability: An Elusive Goal - This article provides a historical description of the federal government’s approach to establishing comparability of student achievement across states. Although comparability is appealing to federal lawmakers, traditionally there have been problems with establishing it – largely because equating and/or linking different state tests is not technically feasible. Achieving interstate comparability is not likely because of how much different tests vary in the content and skills they test, the conditions under which they are administered, and the incentives that are attached to test performance. (J. Herman, E. Baker and R. Linn, CRESST, Spring 2001)

Unwarranted Intrusion - This article contends that the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act will accelerate the worst trend of the current accountability movement: namely, a preoccupation with testing and testing alone. The article warns that accountability systems that don't include substantial investments in capacity, internal accountability and instructional improvement are likely to aggravate existing inequalities between low- and high-performing schools and students. (Richard F. Elmore, Education Next, Hoover Institution, 2002)

No Child Left Behind Policy Brief: School and District Leadership PDF - The No Child Left Behind Act both reflects and reinforces a major shift in thinking about the roles and responsibilities of school board members, district superintendents and principals. This policy brief discusses the challenges facing leaders, opportunities for leadership development, and state policy trends and questions. (Katy Anthes, ECS, April 2002)

Putting Theory to the Test: Systems of "Educational Accountability" Should be Held Accountable - In this article from RAND, the authors evaluate state testing programs and new forms of educational assessment, and conduct research on the validity of scores and gains on high-stakes tests. (Brian M. Stecher and Laura S. Hamilton, RAND, April 2002)

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Summary - This CRS Issue Brief for Congress provides a concise summary of the major provisions of the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (Wayne Riddle and James Stedman, CRS, December 31, 2001)

No Child Left Behind: Meeting Challenges, Seizing Opportunities, Improving Achievement - The No Child Left Behind Act has added momentum to longstanding efforts underway in states to raise academic standards, measure results, and hold schools and students accountable for improving achievement. For some states, the new law is pushing them to go further and faster in implementing these reforms. For other states, the law presents challenges in maintaining the direction and coherence of the reforms they already have put in place. This policy brief pinpoints a set of important choices that the law presents for every state. (Achieve Policy Brief, Achieve, Inc., Summer 2002)

States Ain’t Misbehavin’ but the Work is Hard MS Word - This "Stateline" article highlights the findings of the Education Commission of the States No Child Left Behind survey and the progress states are making toward meeting each requirement. (Kathy Christie, "Stateline," Phi Delta Kappan, April 2003. Reprinted with permission.)

Final Rules and Non-Regulatory Draft Guidance: A Compilation MS Word - This table contains links to final rules and non-regulatory draft guidance issued by the US Department of Education for No Child Left Behind. (Education Commission of the States, May 2004)

Accountability: Responsibility and Reasonable Expectations - This paper discusses some of the central features of current educational accountability systems using the requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 as the primary example. The author argues that to improve education, accountability systems need to be designed in ways that are consistent with past research evidence and experience. (Robert L. Linn, Center for the Study of Evaluation, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, July 2003)

No Child Left Behind: A Guide for Small and Rural Districts - This report identifies 15 areas of the No Child Left Behind Act that the authors feel will have the greatest impact on rural and small schools. It divides each of the areas into three sections: (1) federal legislation language; (2) information relative to policy implications; and (3) legislation implementation in rural and small schools. The report provides best practices, as well as issue-oriented concerns in implementation. (American Association of School Administrators, National Association of State Boards of Education, April 2003)

Rolling Up Their Sleeves - This report examines the attitudes of public school leaders about their jobs and the challenges they face. The authors found that school leaders say their biggest headaches are funding and the time it takes to comply with a blizzard of local, state and federal mandates. Some 93% of superintendents and 88% of principals say their district has experienced "an enormous increase in responsibilities and mandates without getting the resources necessary to fulfill them." Almost nine in 10 call No Child Left Behind an "unfunded mandate," and most say the law "will require many adjustments before it can work." A summary of selected findings also is available. To download a free copy of the full report, a brief registration is required. (Steve Farkas, Jean Johnson and Ann Duffett with Beth Syat and Jackie Vine, Public Agenda, 2003)

Conference Papers: Implementing the No Child Left Behind Act - Panelists at an April 2003 conference on implementing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) were each invited to submit a short document providing recommendations to policymakers on state and local capacity to implement the accountability, technical assistance, school choice and teacher quality provisions of the act. The present compendium of papers includes these, as well as Marc Tucker's introductory essay, "The Issue of State Capacity." Penned by policy analysts and state and local education leaders alike, the papers provide general guidelines for sound NCLB policy responses, as well as in-depth information on the context and policy activities in a handful of specific districts and states. (Co-sponsored by the National Center on Education and the Economy, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and the Progressive Policy Institute, April 2003)

The Future Federal Role: Observations and Ideas - This paper, excerpted from a book, examines federal education policy trends over the last 30-some years, and the No Child Left Behind Act in particular, to propose areas where the federal government might wade into in coming years, maintain or expand its existing role. The author also suggests ”What Will Not Happen,” and offers recommendations for improving the federal legislative and administrative structures relating to education. (Christopher T. Cross, Policy Perspectives, WestEd, excerpted from Political Education: National Policy Comes of Age by Christopher T. Cross, Teachers College Press, 2003)

Bipartisan Education Poll Finds Need for More Flexibility and Funding of NCLB - According to this survey, Americans want accountability in public education, but they question whether adequate resources are being provided and believe the federal government is responsible for funding education at the levels promised when No Child Left Behind was enacted. In addition, the pollsters found that 35% of registered voters cited education as one of their top two federal budget priorities and one in 10 voters believes public schools are in good shape, which is a 3-point increase since January 2003. (Al Quinlan, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Ed Goeas, The Tarrance Group, Inc., National Education Association, January 2004)

Charting the Course: States Decide Major Provisions Under No Child Left Behind - States considered many issues when designing accountability systems, and this press release contains a list of almost 40 separate issues under the control and responsibility of state and local education agencies. (U.S. Department of Education, January 2004)

From the Capital to the Classroom: Year 2 of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act - This report describes the implementation and effects of NCLB during calendar year 2003. Among the major findings are: (1) states and school districts put a great deal of effort into meeting NCLB's demands; (2) a majority of the states agree with the basic premises of the act; (3) to raise achievement in schools identified for improvement more than three-fourths (77%) of the districts with these schools reported they provided additional professional development; and (4) only 1% of eligible children in 2002-03 and just 2% in 2003-04 have taken advantage of the NCLB choice option and moved to another public school. (Center on Education Policy, January 2004)

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 - This link contains the full language of the No Child Left Behind Act. (U.S. Department of Education, January 2002)

Academic Atrophy: The Condition of the Liberal Arts in America's Public Schools - This report is based on a study of American K-12 students’ access to a curriculum in the liberal arts. The authors found strong evidence of growing commitment to mathematics, reading, writing, science and secondary social studies. They also saw evidence, however, of waning commitment to the arts, foreign language and elementary social studies, with the greatest erosion of the curriculum occurring in schools with high minority populations. (Claus von Zastrow and Helen Janc, Council for Basic Education, March 2004) The Council of Basic Education announced that the organization would close its doors in June 2004, therefore, ECS has linked to a report summary on the Music for All Foundation's Web site.

Improving Educational Outcomes for Students with Disabilities - Based on a literature review, as well as interviews with policymakers, researchers and practitioners nationwide, this report gauges the impact of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and NCLB in public expectations for students with disabilities. It also provides numerous recommendations for decisionmakers and practitioners alike. The study finds both acts are having an overall positive influence on the achievement of students with disabilities, but NCLB has the potential for positive as well as negative impact on the high school dropout rate among these youth. The authors also explore the scientifically based research on serving students with disabilities, including evidence-based strategies for dropout prevention, transition to postsecondary education and the workforce, and assessments and accommodations. The report’s number one recommendation is to not revert to lower expectations for students with disabilities. (National Council on Disability, May 2004)

ECS Report to the Nation: State Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act - ECS Report to the Nation summarizes information gathered and insights gained through work on the organization's NCLB database, as well as through literature reviews and conversations with state leaders. The report looks at seven NCLB categories including: standards and assessments, adequate yearly progress, school improvement, supplemental services, safe schools, report cards and teacher quality. Each of the seven sections provides a look at how states are doing, what states are doing and issues and challenges facing states.

Additional Assistance and Research on Effective Strategies Would Help Small Rural Districts - Smaller districts are having a hard time attracting highly qualified teachers, according to this study on implementing the No Child Left Behind Act. Teachers often must teach multiple grades or subjects and feel isolated from big libraries, professional development and programs for special-needs students, the report said. Declining enrollments mean less state aid but higher standards require more resources. Also, special-needs and disadvantaged students make up a bigger percentage of the students in smaller districts. (U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 2004)

Improvements Needed in Education's Process for Tracking States' Implementation of Key Provisions of NCLB - This report contains recommendations for improvements needed in the Department of Education's process for tracking states' implementation of key provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. To provide information about states’ efforts, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined (1) what goals states established for student proficiency and their implications for whether schools will meet these goals; (2) what factors facilitated or impeded selected state and school district implementation efforts; and (3) how the Department of Education (Education) supported state efforts and approved state plans to meet student proficiency requirements. The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education delineate a written process and timeframes for states to meet conditions for full approval, develop a written plan with steps and timeframes so all states have approved standards and assessment systems by 2006 and further support states’ efforts to gather accurate student data used to determine if goals have been met. Education disagreed with the first recommendation and agreed with the others. (United States Government Accountability Office, September 2004)

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