No Child Left Behind: Voices and Views from Pennsylvania Communities

Posted by on October 29, 2004

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: VOICES AND VIEWS FROM PENNSYLVANIA COMMUNITIES

The federal “No Child Left Behind” law (NCLB) touches every school in Pennsylvania, with new requirements for rating schools, testing students, measuring teacher quality, and reporting data to the public, among other changes. Two years into its implementation, the Pennsylvania Public Education Partnership (PAPEP) set out to explore the impact of the complex federal legislation on local schools and communities. Close to 500 citizens responded to invitations to attend town meetings in seven locations across the state, and a culminating public hearing in Harrisburg, the state capital. Parents, educators, students, and other interested citizens debated the pros and cons of NCLB and shared their schools’ experiences. This is a report of these conversations, highlighted with numerous quotes from individuals who attended. The publication also discusses the results of an interactive process that participants engaged in during the town meetings to “vote” on the pros and cons of the law, along with PAPEP’s recommendations for policymakers and an overview of NCLB implementation in Pennsylvania.

http://www.ed4allkids.org/resources/pdffiles/TMSum_report.pdf