In this commentary on Al Otaiba, Hosp, Smartt, and Dole's article (this issue), key strengths, limitations, and systemic issues in the consultation project are identified. It is posited that despite expanded opportunities for school improvement since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and clear evidence that improvement is…

Many teachers perceive an erosion of their professionalism since "A Nation at Risk" appeared, and they have felt that erosion accelerating since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act. Myriad factors contribute to this climate so contrary to teacher professionalism: poor funding, poor parenting, overstuffed classrooms, low-quality…

Opportunities for professional development can benefit the practice of teaching, the learning of students, and the culture of schooling. Thus, considerable attention has been given to effective professional development programs and many reform agendas have made such initiatives a priority (No Child Left Behind, 2002; National Board for…

This article presents an interview with Richard F. Elmore on the need for educators to develop a collective practice. Elmore is the Gregory R. Anrig professor of educational leadership at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. He is also the co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). His research…

As a result of the Reading First Program of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the view of reading has narrowed. Individual state's Reading First professional development programs, and hence reading teachers across the United States, have spent the six years since the funding of the program in 2002 focusing beginning and developmental reading on…

Today, there are critics of teacher education who believe that the system itself is archaic. These critics say that "schools of education" are by their very nature incapable of educating teachers. They say there is nothing worth preserving in them. In this paper, the author proposes that teacher education should engender a set of…

Recent reform initiatives, especially the No Child Left Behind Act, tend to rely on a variety of highly debatable assumptions that fail to reflect the diversity of today's classrooms and also place pressure on educators in a manner we characterize as accountability by assumption. Such reform initiatives have become so political, complex, and…

Describes the expanded responsibility of state governments and local school districts to improve student academic achievement in elementary and secondary schools under the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, which expands the federal role in education. (PKP)

This document suggests 18 changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in four targeted areas. Regarding Assessment and Accountability, The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) supports: (1) Implementing an accountability system that gives credit for progress and/or proficiency; (2) Creating levels for making adequate yearly progress (AYP) that…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all teachers to be highly qualified by 2005-06. Accomplishing this will require statewide collaboration among higher education, school districts, certification boards, and departments of education. Data from recent studies of teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development in Wyoming illustrate…

This document suggests changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in four targeted areas. Regarding Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) supports: (1) Setting challenging but demonstrably attainable student progress goals; (2) Judging school effectiveness by measuring progress of the same students over…

This paper explores the range of ways in which school districts are using Title I funds for early education through kindergarten and examines how the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has impacted those investments. It also makes recommendations for local education agencies (LEAs) interested in creating Title I-funded early education…

In this article, the author identifies two current--and competing--discourses concerning teaching and public education in general. One is the "official" discourse, embodied in "No Child Left Behind" language, with a focus on accountability, standards, credentials, and testing, accompanied by punitive measures for failing to…

A report recently released by the Center on Education Policy reveals that the four-year-old No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has indeed served to shine a light on the importance of professional development for K-12 educators. Beyond that basic fact, though, any real broad-based impact on the training of educators remains inconclusive. While the…

Many believe that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 represents the most sweeping national education reform legislation in decades. NCLB's provisions have created numerous potential opportunities and challenges for career and technical education (CTE), including in the following areas: (1) teacher quality; (2) expansion of the Education…