Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• McCombs, Jennifer Sloan

Titel

The school choice provisions of No Child Left Behind: An examination of access, information, and impact

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2007

Link zum Volltext

• ProQuest

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Under the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), students in Title I schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years are to be given the choice to transfer to an alternate school. The purpose of this choice mechanism is two-fold: to create incentives for principals of low-performing schools to improve and to provide an "escape valve" for students in low-performing schools. This dissertation uses data from one large district to examine how the choice provisions of NCLB were implemented in 2004-05, what types of students were more likely to transfer under choice, and what effect choice had on district administration, principals' priorities and attitudes, and student achievement. The findings suggest that the district did provide high-quality transfer options to students; however, parental notification about choice could have been improved. District officials and principals reported that NCLB choice created teacher staffing difficulties; stimied redistricting efforts; and did not create additional incentives for principals to improve schools above and beyond the basic accountability system. Students with higher test scores in reading were significantly more likely to transfer schools compared with their lower-performing peers. At the elementary school level, African American students were significantly less likely to transfer than white students. The majority of students who transferred under NCLB did not attend the sending school in 2003-04 (they were newly assigned to that school). Analyses showed no significant effects from transferring on 2005 student achievement or achievement gains.