Title I schools that want desperately to raise student scores on high-stakes tests often have found it hard to resist the lure of scripted literacy programs, especially in the face of pressure from No Child Left Behind to raise test scores. In recent years, many high-poverty elementary schools have adopted such programs in spite of evidence about…

Among nearly 40 States attempting to apply the accountability principle to school operation by legislative fiat, Michigan is clearly a leader. This exhaustive study reveals disturbing defects in Michigan's plan, particularly in the assessment component. (Editor)

Test-based accountability systems aim to direct the behavior of educators toward the improvement of student achievement. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act codified accountability as the national educational blueprint, requiring schools to increase test scores incrementally so that all students are proficient in reading and math by 2014. Yet,…

Students in Mr. Shaw's classes used to be free to discover the joy of reading books of their own choosing. But that kind of spontaneity is vanishing under No Child Left Behind. This article describes the classroom library Mr. Shaw has built throughout the years and the joy it has brought to his students and their learning.