Drivers of Success: One District's Process for Closing Achievement Gaps in a Post-No Child Left behind Context

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education granted states the opportunity to apply for waivers from the core requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. In exchange, many states implemented systems of differentiated accountability that included a focus on schools with the largest achievement gaps between subgroups of students. We use administrative data from Michigan in a series of regression-discontinuity analyses to study the effects of these school reforms on schools and students. We find some evidence that targeting schools for such reforms led to small, short-run reductions in the within-school math achievement gap. However, these reductions were driven by stagnant performance of lower-achieving students alongside declines in the performance of their higher-achieving peers. These findings serve as a cautionary tale for the capacity of the accountability provisions embedded in the recent reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, the Every Student Succeeds Act, to meaningfully improve student and school outcomes.

Download Full-text

Accountability without Angst? Public Opinion and No Child Left Behind

Harvard Educational Review ◽

10.17763/haer.76.4.p245w24572592m62 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 76 (4) ◽

pp. 587-610 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

FREDERICK HESS

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Public Schools ◽

No Child Left Behind ◽

School Choice ◽

Large Scale ◽

Public Support ◽

Achievement Gaps ◽

The Public ◽

Left Behind ◽

Using Data

In this article, Frederick Hess discusses public opinion trends related to educational issues from the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002 through 2006. Using data from three separate public opinion polls, Hess analyzes the general public's and parents' opinions on several issues, including the proper use of large-scale assessments, the appropriateness of punitive action for failing schools, the place of school choice, and the responsibility for closing achievement gaps across groups. Among many important findings, the author determines that NCLB has had little effect on the public's general opinion of public schools; that there is little public support for the sanctioning of struggling schools; and that while the public feels that schools should not be blamed for existing achievement gaps, schools should be responsible for closing them. He concludes with a discussion of implications for policymakers and practitioners.

Download Full-text