NCLB Implementation Challenges: The Local Superintendent's View

Abstract

Any serious debate or discussion about the No Child Left Behind Act's prospects for success in rescuing students, who historically have not been well-served by the nation's public schools, must include the important voices of local school superintendents, who are charged with implementing the many disparate elements of the law's main provisions. As might be predicted, those voices are not unanimous in their support for this historic federal education policy measure. Though some superintendents view the law as a helpful and supportive part of overall school reform strategy building on local and state accountability initiatives, others see it as a punitive and draconian measure designed to build the case for vouchers and other private sector provider schemes by arguing that public schools have failed in many communities in America. This discussion concludes with the fervent hope that federal policy researchers in the next decade will focus both attention and resources on the many unresolved questions of implementation associated with this landmark measure.