The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) had mixed effects on the nation's educational ecosystem. NCLB succeeded in shifting the focus from inputs to outcomes, shining a light on performance of different student subgroups, and using reporting requirements to spur development of more-robust education data systems. But NCLB included several…

Like the depiction of plagues in apocalyptic science fiction, neoliberalism continues to infect education at all levels. This infection causes educators to care not for the children, but to embrace the figure of the Child. Reproductive futurism, in the imagined redemptive figure of the Child has been regulating the structure of education not for…

COVID-19 gave the country a crash course in public health data. It underscored the value of data that can support well-informed, timely action in a crisis. Good data are just as important for education systems in crisis. Schools and districts have been struggling to reach and educate students safely. Students who were disproportionately…

For the last 40 years, business leaders, philanthropists, and a host of nonprofit advocacy groups have pushed for higher standards, academic rigor, standardized testing, and newer models of educating children. But, today, some of these reformers are feeling disillusioned and believe that the investments intended to transform education and provide…

Through discriminatory policies and neoliberal practices, public institutions have historically marginalized low-wage migrants on the basis of race, ethnicity, class, and English-language ability. Under the Trump administration and Republican-led Congress, anti-immigrant practices and rhetoric have intensified. This paper explores the impact of…

Over a decade ago, the first edition of "City Schools and the American Dream" debuted just as reformers were gearing up to make sweeping changes in urban education. Despite the rhetoric and many reform initiatives, urban schools continue to struggle under the weight of serious challenges. What went wrong and is there hope for future…

In February, 2013, the Division of Early Childhood, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National Head Start Association released a collaborative paper to provide clarification and assistance regarding the relationship of response to intervention (RTI) with the field of early childhood (EC). In addition to…

In this article, Angela Hurley ponders a question centered on how well P-12 schooling experiences and the current accompanying education discourse on the importance of attending college actually match with traditional notions of the purposes of academic life held by college faculty. Does the current, performance data-driven system of P-12…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) represents a quantum leap in both Federal involvement and Federal mandates to schools. In the relatively short period of less than a decade NCLB has changed how teachers teach, what subjects are taught, and how teachers and principals are evaluated. As NCLB continues to impact American education and educational…

Great anticipation surrounded the release of the first ever Surgeon General's report on physical activity and health in 1996. The report stated that physical activity can contribute significantly to overall levels of health and the quality of life for all Americans. However, since the report's release, little has improved in the health status of…

Living in poverty increases the likelihood that students with disabilities will experience poor postschool outcomes, including unemployment, underemployment, and limited postsecondary education. The effects of the intersection of poverty and disability persist into adulthood where the employment rate for adults with disabilities is only one fourth…

School counseling as a specialty area within the profession of counseling is, in the eyes of many, experiencing a crisis of identity. The crisis, however, truly lies with school counselors struggling to fit the mold impressed upon them by external forces which often contradicts their educational preparation as counselors. We make two main points.…

This article develops a framework, drawn from earlier work by education scholars, as well as broader theoretical insights on advocacy and policymaking developed by political scientists, for thinking about education politics in the post-No Child Left Behind era. The authors use this framework to examine the evolution of the national education…

Guest editors Gail Boldt and William Ayers have asked 14 leading educators to address the politics of the teacher accountability movement in America. Who benefits and who is hurt? What is gained and what is lost? How can we move forward with a more hopeful and inclusive vision of our educational future? All of the contributors are motivated by an…

Currently, American schooling, driven by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and standardized tests, emphasizes development of intelligence. Because of this, teachers must heavily emphasize acquisition of foundational information (facts) in lectures, assessments, and of course, time-consuming test preparation, at the expense of intellect, that…