Description
Identifying "accountability" as the central aim of the No Child Left Behind Act (signed by George W. Bush in January 2002), Peterson (of Stanford U.'s Hoover Institution) and West (Harvard U.) present 13 papers that sympathetically describe the political origins of "accountability politics," examine educational practice as it is impacted by the law and other similar regulations, and explore the possible impacts of the "accountability" movement. Also discussed are the groups that are opposed to "accountability" measures, such as teachers and significant groups of parents, as well as ways to overcome their objections or opposition. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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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 law's origins, the political and social forces that gave it shape, the potential issues that will surface with its implementation, and finally, the law's likely consequences for American education.
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