This study examines longitudinal student progress and achievement on the elementary, middle, and high school levels in relation to accountability policy incentives in a large urban district in Texas. Using quantitative analyses supplemented by qualitative interviews, the authors found that high-stakes testing policies that rewarded and punished…

The No Child Left Behind Act, the major education initiative of the Bush Administration, was intended to raise educational achievement and close the racial/ethnic achievement gap. Its strategies include focusing schools' attention on raising test scores, mandating better qualified teachers and providing educational choice. Unfortunately, the…

This paper examines how urban school districts that have substantially improved student performance emphasize improvement of education guided by rigorous standards for teachers rather than high-stakes testing for students. States and districts that rely on test-based accountability emphasizing sanctions for students and teachers often produce…

While some proponents of testing rest their hopes for stronger learning on the expectation that tests alone will motivate students to work harder, most posit that better learning will result primarily from better teaching--due to curriculum changes, greater attention to student needs, stronger teacher motivation, or focused investments in…