Beyond Nclb

Beyond NCLB

Beyond NCLB

This year, Congress is scheduled to review the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In 2002, this law signaled an important change in federal education policy by focusing on accountability for results rather than simple compliance and by seeking to set the performance bar high for all children, regardless of where they live. The time is now to learn from the successes and struggles of the law and forge a stronger path to a better future. The nation has an important opportunity to move beyond NCLB in its current form and take the steps necessary to fulfill the promise of high achievement for all children. In February 2006, 15 leaders in education--representing K-12 and higher education, school and school-system governance, civil rights and business--came together to form the Commission on No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan, independent effort dedicated to improving NCLB. Through the generous support of their funders and the Aspen Institute, the Commission traveled across the country, listening to the stories and experiences of students, teachers, principals, parents, administrators, state and district officials, experts and policymakers. They held public hearings and roundtables, visited schools, wrote profiles of schools and districts, read thousands of comments submitted through the their Web site, and researched and analyzed extensive amounts of data. This report outlines the Commission's recommendations for establishing a high-achieving education system, one that includes teacher and principal quality and effectiveness, strong accountability, meaningful school improvement, high-quality student options, accurate assessments and truly high expectations for all students. Their recommendations are defined and supported by research, data and the experiences of parents and the people who do the hard work in public education and are affected daily by NCLB. This report addresses specific statutory and implementation issues as well as other challenges. The recommendations build on the foundation of NCLB and fill in those pieces that the Commission believes are needed to address shortcomings in the law and its implementation, as well as other necessary actions to produce a true high-achieving education system for all children. Appended are: (1) Summary of Outreach and Research Activities; (2) List of Graphs and Charts; (3) Common Abbreviations Used; and (4) Additional View. (Contains 27 graphs and charts.) [This report was prepared by the Commission on No Child Left Behind.].

Consequences of No Child Left Behind on Educational Evaluation

This volume explores how key aspects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have transformed the landscape of educational evaluation, and ultimately how this process is redefining what evaluation is within the educational evaluation community. In their chapters, the authors examine case studies, critical commentaries, and technical information related to the nexus between evaluation and NCLB. The volume is intended to stimulate conversation around fundamental issues in the discipline of evaluation, including blurring the lines among research, evaluation, and assessment; prioritizing summative evaluations over formative; using questions to drive research design rather than the reverse; balancing accountability requirements with other stakeholder needs; exploring the role of evaluation capacity building in an institutional setting; understanding the availability and appropriate use of assessment data; and defining learning outcomes that are based on standardized test scores alone. Evaluative activities have become integrated into the fabric of NCLB primarily through two core aspects of the legislation: responding to accountability systems and implementing scientifically based research. One plausible consequence of this close integration is that the purpose, design, and practice of evaluation may actually be transformed by this legislation. This volume describes these transformative influences and then explores the potential consequences. This is the 117th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.