No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) prompts districts to better align instruction and state standards and more effectively use test data to adjust teaching. Actions in response to these prompts have a greater impact on the everyday activities of schools and districts than only former school operations.
“The effects of NCLB are complex, and this policy has both strengths and weaknesses,” said Jack Jennings, president and CEO of the independent, nonpartisan CEP (Center on Education Policy). “If anyone is looking for a simple judgment on NCLB, such as ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ they will not find it in this report.”
The Center also found that a majority of districts surveyed – 71 percent – reported having reduced instructional time in at least one other subject to make more time for reading and mathematics, the topics tested for NCLB purposes.
CEP tracks federal, state and local implementation of the NCLB law. The 4th year report From Capitol to Classroom reports the most up-to-date information about the law’s implementation for states and districts. It consists of an extensive body of original research and analysis. The Appendix summarizes data sources used in this report.
I may have missed it, but I do not see any analysis of affects of technologies used by schools to support students learning minimum state standard requirements. Analyzing use of advanced technology (such as Tablet PCs and other mobile devices) in classrooms seems as important as describing use of commercially available (through consultants, panels, etc.) reading instruction and administrative programs.