1st Edition
No Child Left Behind and the Reduction of the Achievement Gap Sociological Perspectives on Federal Educational Policy
This monumental collection presents the first-ever sociological analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act and its effects on children, teachers, parents, and schools. More importantly, these leading sociologists consider whether NLCB can or will accomplish its major goal: to eliminate the achievement gap by 2014. Based on theoretical and empirical research, the essays examine the history of federal educational policy and place NCLB in a larger sociological and historical context. Taking up a number of policy areas affected by the law—including accountability and assessment, curriculum and instruction, teacher quality, parental involvement, school choice and urban education—this book examines the effects of NCLB on different groups of students and schools and the ways in which school organization and structure affect achievement. No Child Left Behind concludes with a discussion of the important contributions of sociological research and sociological analysis integral to understanding the limits and possibilities of the law to reduce the achievement gap.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
George Bohrnstedt and Jennifer O’ Day
Part I: Federal and State Educational Policy and NCLB
1. No Child Left Behind? Sociology Ignored!
David Karen
Part II. Accountability and Assessment
- NCLB and the Complexity of School Improvement
Jennifer O’Day
- Double Standards for Graduation Rate Accountability? Or None?
- Who Counts for Accountability?: High-Stakes Test Exemptions in a Large Urban School District
- Inside the Black Box of Accountability: How High-Stakes Accountability Alters School Culture and the Classification and Treatment of Students and Teachers
Christopher B. Swanson
Jennifer Booher-Jennings and Andrew Beveridge
Katie Weitz White and James Rosenbaum
Part III. Teaching and Teacher Quality
6. AIR, State Policy Activity under NCLB: Adequate Yearly Progress and Highly Qualified Teachers
Kerstin Carlson Le Floch
7. Professionalism Under Siege: Teachers’ Views of the No Child Left Behind Act
Steven Brint and Sue Teele
8. Teacher Quality: Educational Inequality and the Organization of Schools
Richard Ingersoll
9. Teaching Quality as a Problem of School Change
Joan Talbert and Milbrey McLaughlin
Part IV. School Choice and Parental Involvement
- False Promises: The School Choice Provisions in No Child Left Behind
Douglas Lee Lauen
11. When School Choice Leaves Many Children Behind: Implications for NCLB from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Roslyn Arlin Mickelson and Stephanie Southworth
- Non-Promotional School Change and the Achievement of Texas Students: Possible Public School Choice Outcomes under No Child Left Behind
A. Gary Dworkin and Jon Lorence
13. Research Meets Policy and Practice: How Are School Districts Addressing
NCLB Requirements for Parental Involvement?
Joyce L. Epstein
14. Getting Families Involved With NCLB: Factors Affecting Schools’ Enactment of Federal Policy
Steven B. Sheldon
Part V. Federal Involvement, NCLB and the Reduction of the Achievement Gap
15. Learning from Philadelphia’s School Reform: The Impact of NCLB and Related State Legislation
Elizabeth Useem
16. Can NCLB close achievement gaps?
David Armor
17. Symbolic Uses of the "No Child Left Behind Act": Reaffirmation of Equality of Educational Opportunity or De-Legitimization of Public Schools?
Mary Haywood Metz
18. Conclusion: Sociological Perspectives on NCLB and Federal Involvement in Education
Alan R. Sadovnik, A.Gary Dworkin, Adam Gamoran, Maureen Hallinan and Janelle Scott
Contributors
Index
Biography
Alan R. Sadovnik is Professor of Education, Sociology, and Public Affairs at Rutgers University.
Jennifer A. O'Day is Managing Research Scientist and Policy Analyst in the Education Program at the American Institute for Research.
George W. Bohrnstedt is Senior Vice President for Research at the American Institute for Research.
Kathryn M. Borman is Professor of Anthropology at University of South Florida.
Reviews
Kris Sloan, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University and Assistant Editor, Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy
I solidly, even strongly recommend that Routledge consider publish this collection. I would most definitely purchase this book and would encourage others to as well.
Kristen Buras, Assistant Professor University of Wisconsin, Madison
The book has the potential to make a significant contribution to the field. It would likely
be the most comprehensive volume to date.
Catherine A. Lugg, Associate Professor Rutgers University
The book is exquisitely timely. To be frank, it’s need as of yesterday. And it’s shelf life should be pretty good, given the target date of 2014 established by NCLB. The book should have a great shelf-life, extending past that date. . . . I STRONGLY recommend this book for publication. It’s timely and should remain so, and fills a critical hole in the research literature.