Assessing No Child Left Behind and the Rise of Neoliberal Education Policies

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hursh
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
Globalized Economy ◽  
To Receive

No Child Left Behind and other education reforms promoting high-stakes testing, accountability, and competitive markets continue to receive wide support from politicians and public figures. This support, the author suggests, has been achieved by situating education within neoliberal policies that argue that such reforms are necessary within an increasingly globalized economy, will increase academic achievement, and will close the achievement gap. However, the author offers preliminary data suggesting that the reforms are not achieving their stated goals. Consequently, educators need to question whether neoliberal approaches to education should replace the previously dominant social democratic approaches.

scholarly journals Cheating in the first, second, and third degree: Educators' responses to high-stakes testing

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley ◽  
David C. Berliner ◽  
Sharon Rideau
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Testing Policies

Educators are under tremendous pressure to ensure that their students perform well on tests.  Unfortunately, this pressure has caused some educators to cheat.  The purpose of this study was to investigate the types of, and degrees to which, a sample of teachers in Arizona were aware of, or had themselves engaged in test-related cheating practices as a function of the high-stakes testing policies of No Child Left Behind. A near census sample of teachers was surveyed, with valid responses obtained from about 5 percent, totaling just over 3,000 teachers. In addition, one small convenience sample of teachers was interviewed, and another participated in a focus group. Data revealed that cheating occurs and that educators can be quite clever when doing so. But how one defines cheating makes it difficult to quantify the frequency with which educators engage in such practices. Our analysis thus required us to think about a taxonomy of cheating based on the definitions of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree offenses in the field of law. These categories were analyzed to help educators better define, and be more aware of others' and their own cheating practices, in an attempt to inform local testing policies and procedures.

High Stakes Testing: Issues, Implications, and Remedies for English Language Learners

2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald W. Solórzano
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Proficiency Tests ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
High Stakes Tests

This article discusses the issues and implications of high stakes tests on English language learners (ELLs). As ELLs are being included in all high stakes assessments tied to accountability efforts (e.g., No Child Left Behind), it is crucial that issues related to the tests be critically evaluated relative to their use. In this case, academic achievement tests are analyzed relative to their norming samples and validity to determine their usefulness to ELLs. Also, commonly used language proficiency tests are examined relative to definitions of proficiency, technical quality, alignment with criteria for language classification and reclassification, and their academic predictive validity. Based on the synthesis of the literature, the author concludes that high stakes tests as currently constructed are inappropriate for ELLs, and most disturbing is their continued use for high stakes decisions that have adverse consequences. The author provides recommendations for addressing the issues related to high stakes tests and ELLs.

scholarly journals Niezamierzone skutki stosowania testów wysokiej stawki. Lekcja z amerykańskiej reformy NCLB

1970 ◽  
pp. 39-64
Author(s):  
Alicja Zawistowska
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Exit Exams ◽  
Unintended Effects ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Teaching Standards ◽  
Accountability Policy

Educational decision makers willingly draw on solutions adopted in other countries. It was also the case in Polish educational reform started in late 90s. Since the introduction of the reform, Poland joined countries whose educational system is divided into three levels, each ending with an exit exams and core curriculum is set to teaching standards. The exams seem to be the most important element of the Polish reform. While the designers of educational policies are often inspired by the experiences of other countries during the planning phase, they are less willing to learn from them when it comes to predicting outcomes of the reform. A good case to analyze potential consequences of high-stakes testing is United States, where standardized tests have been administered since the beginning of the era of mass education. In this paper I will analyze the effects of the last, most controversial federal reform, commonly known as No Child Left Behind introduced in 2002. Findings of the study might be used to predict potential unintended effects of using the high stakes tests for accountability policy. The article addresses the problem of test scores inflation as well as the factors which may accelerate it.

Bad Tests or Bad Test Use? A Case of SAT Use to Examine Why We Need Stakeholder Conversations on Validity

2013 ◽  
Vol 115 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhabi Chatterji
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Teachers College ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Test Use ◽  
Nclb Act

Background Much is still unknown or unclear about how and where validity issues arise in high stakes testing situations in education, and ways by which we can rectify validity problems in practice and policy contexts. Purpose This paper is the Foreword to the special issue of the Teachers College Record, When Education Measures Go Public – Stakeholder Perspectives on How and Why Validity Breaks Down. Method The paper analyzes a recent case involving an application of the SAT to highlight tensions between validity and test score use in high stakes school accountability environments driven by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. It uses the case study as a vehicle to introduce the individual papers and authors in the section. Conclusions There are information and power gaps among those who set societal priorities for using tests for high stakes purposes, those who design and conduct psychometric research on tests and testing programs, and those who could eventually face consequences of assessment misuse. These gaps could be addressed through thoughtful exchanges among key assessment stakeholders, as this special issue shows.

scholarly journals The Unintended, Pernicious Consequences of "Staying the Course" on the United States' No Child Left Behind Policy

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Education ◽  
Top Down ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Familiar Expression

The phrase “no child left behind” has become a familiar expression in American education circles and in popular culture. The sentiment implied by these four words is noble. However, the effects of the top-down implementation of the high-stakes testing provisions of the law have been anything but salutary for public school children, teachers, and administrators. This claim is supported by data describing many of the ways in which well-intentioned but desperate educators, from the statehouse to the schoolhouse, have been driven to game the system in ironic defense of the children, teachers, and administrators least equipped to defend themselves. It is argued herein that, instead of reauthorizing the stronger accountability tenet of NCLB, it might do very well to let it fade away.

Intersections of Accountability and Special Education: The Social Justice Implications of Policy and Practice

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Felicia Castro-Villarreal ◽  
Sharon L. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
The Social

High-stakes testing accountability has wreaked havoc on America's public schools. Since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001, virtually every public school student has experienced the pressures of preparing for, practicing, and taking standardized state exams, the results of which have had significant consequences for their schools, teachers, and themselves. These test-based pressures have altered educational practices in significant ways for all students, but especially for students with disabilities. The goal of this article is to briefly describe the educational climate for students with disabilities, focusing on emergent federal policies that have had the contradictory effect of expanding and narrowing learning opportunities for students. This article provides the backdrop for the volume by introducing the reader to the general characteristics of our special education population, discussing the past and current federal policies guiding their education, and offering implications for policy and practice.

The Accountability Culture: a Systematic Review of High-Stakes Testing and English Learners in the United States During No Child Left Behind

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-352
Author(s):  
Sandra Acosta ◽  
Tiberio Garza ◽  
Hsien-Yuan Hsu ◽  
Patricia Goodson ◽  
Yolanda Padrón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
English Learners ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Left Behind
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