This qualitative study explored educators' sense making of and responses to No Child Left Behind and the Common Core State Standards at one urban Expeditionary Learning middle school. Sense-making theory (Spillane, Reiser, & Reimer, 2002) and inquiry as stance (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) were used as complementary conceptual frameworks…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandated that states implement standards and test-based accountability systems. In theory, local educators are free to select the means for teaching the standards so long as students achieve a predetermined proficiency level on the exams. What is unclear, however, is how this theory plays out in schools…

This article examines urban school-university partnership research after No Child Left Behind. Central to the review is an analysis in the trend of research methods utilized across studies. It was found that many studies are single-case studies or anecdotal. There are few quantitative, sustained qualitative, or mixed-methods studies represented in…

Brantlinger's [2004b. "Ideologies Discerned, Values Determined: Getting past the Hierarchies of Special Education." In "Ideology and the Politics of (in)Exclusion," edited by L. Ware, 11-31. New York: Peter Lang Publishing] critique of hierarchical ideologies lays bare the logics embedded in standards-based reform. Drawing on…

School leaders must ensure the schools meet U.S. federal and state guidelines; thereby increasing test scores, as stipulated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates (Sloan, 2007). Increased student achievement continues to be the focus of state education departments because the number of students graduating from high school decreased and…

Confusion among school leaders regarding how to interpret and implement special education legislation, and specific federal and state policies and mandates such as a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), in the least restrictive environment (LRE) at the school-site level has existed since the 1970s and continues to exist. This…

This critical discourse analysis focuses upon the discursive construction of Latino English language learners (ELL) identity within a Texas neoliberal schooling context. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine the construction of Latino ELL identities in the discourses of Texas school leaders practicing under the aegis of neoliberal…

In the context of a newly adopted statewide assessment system, PAWS (Proficiency Assessment for Wyoming Students), this paper describes intended instructional changes and unintended outcomes in classrooms and schools as a result of an assessment policy involving an innovative online portion of the test. An elementary school was selected and…

This qualitative study of educators' understandings of resilience contributes to ongoing rural school research that examines educators' beliefs about, and attitudes toward, rural students whom are at-risk and factors that impact rural school success. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers and administrators in one rural Florida…

Current federal and state education mandates were developed to make schools accountable for student performance with the rationale that schools, teachers, and students will improve through the administration of high-stakes tests. Public schools are mandated to adhere to three accountability systems: national, state, and local. Additional elements…

Federal special education and accountability policies requires that educators individualize instruction for students with disabilities, while simultaneously ensuring that the vast majority of these students meet age-based grade-level standards and assessment targets. In this paper, we examine this dynamic interplay between policies through…

"Education is the source of shared values essential to democracy, (...) [however], values are not enough for democracy to function well; expert skills are also needed" (Fuhrman & Lazerson, 2005, xxvi). With the turn of the 21st century, debates over the nation's public school system's ability to ensure No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act…

The Title IX legislation of 1972 was established to promote gender equity among public entities (primarily schools) that utilize federal funding to support and sustain their operation. However, the United States (U.S.) Government developed new regulations for Title IX due to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This change allowed public school districts…

Collaboration between general and special education teachers is essential for students with disabilities to have access to general education curriculum and instruction, and improved outcomes in school. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and No Child Left Behind Legislation, include mandates that increase demands for collaboration.…

The third pillar of No Child Left Behind emphasizes determining which educational programs and practices have been proven effective through rigorous scientific research. This study addressed Davis, Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, and Meyerson's (2005) call for a "need for additional research to determine the impact and relative importance of…