This paper focuses on the first-year implementation of the choice provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in Buffalo, New York, DeKalb County, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia. After an analysis of the assumptions underlying school choice and the relevant research literature, the study addressed four research questions motivated by NCLBs…

This article examines what some people see as flaws in the transfer policy provision of the No Child Left Behind law. Advocates of the policy are calling for providing schools with incentives to accept transfers and for giving parents more time, information, and options, among other changes. States need to hold districts' feet to the fire, those…

Politicians, less interested in purity than in popularity, are generally wary of national standards. Yet a standards-based accountability system is the core component of NCLB, and in some ways it has made standards advocates victims of their own success. Now, many activists are agitating to cut back the role of Washington in education, and a…

Since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, education policy makers have focused on students at the lower end of the achievement spectrum, specifically those struggling to meet standards, particularly in reading and mathematics. However, those who are considered gifted have been increasingly underserved, at the expense of high ability…

A new report published by the Manhattan Institute for Education Policy, "The Effect of Special Education Vouchers on Public School Achievement: Evidence from Florida's McKay Scholarship Program," attempts to examine the complex issue of how competition introduced through school vouchers affects student outcomes in public schools. The…

Since the passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB), the evidence that it is working has continued to grow. Because of this law, teachers and parents are getting the information and help they need to help every child reach his or her best in school--and as a result, student achievement is rising across America. While…

"Outlook" is the monthly newsletter of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). This issue contains the following articles: (1) Paige Establishes High-Profile Office of Innovation: Deputy Undersecretary to Focus on Choice and School Improvement; (2) House Leaders Postpone Vote on Tax Relief Act; (3) USDE [U.S. Department of…

Summary of Koret Task Force report on the state of elementary/secondary education. Highlights findings of 1983 National Commission on Excellence in Education report "A Nation at Risk" and the response thereto. Discusses why educational change efforts have resulted in so little improvement in student performance. Highlights findings and…

This bimonthly newsletter provides information about the progress of the Honor States Grant Program, a governor-led effort to improve college--and work-ready graduation rates. This issue spotlights the "supply-side" of high school redesign, exploring how state policymakers are working to expand the supply of high-quality high schools.…

Richard Murnane observes that the American ideal of equality of educational opportunity has for years been more the rhetoric than the reality of the nation's political life. Children living in poverty, he notes, tend to be concentrated in low-performing schools staffed by ill-equipped teachers. They are likely to leave school without the skills…

Whatever has happened to using teacher observation as an approach to assess student achievement? Presently, the emphasis is upon state mandated testing to ascertain student progress. Much is written in educational journals about having students achieve No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal and state standards, signed into law in 2002. Much drill is…

Rose and Gallup report on the results of the 38th Annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitude Toward the Public Schools. This year's survey examined No Child Left Behind and the public's perception of the law, the appropriate role of standardized testing, the achievement gap between white students and black and Hispanic students, the…

This issue paper focuses on School Choice (the option to transfer to another public school when a school is identified for "improvement") and how it may affect children with disabilities. It begins with a brief discussion of when school choice kicks in under NCLB, followed by a detailed discussion of the legal requirements that apply…

Argues that while No Child Left Behind Act allows parents to transfer their children from failing schools to better performing ones or to enroll them in "supplemental services," few parents have exercised these options because many suburban schools have resisted transfers and few urban districts have informed parents of these options.…

When dealing with the issues of quality control and the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their school-aged children, one of the key factors that affects parental rights is compulsory attendance laws. Put another way, insofar as parents must educate their children, whether in regular public or nonpublic schools or by homeschooling…