The No Child Left Behind Generation Goes to College: A Longitudinal Comparative Analysis of the Impact of NCLB on the Culture of College Readiness

Abstract

Warnings have been declared regarding the preparedness of a new generation of students arriving on college campuses across the United States. For twelve years, these students attended public schools under a federal policy enriched with political, social, and economic objectives. This policy was the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, and the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence NCLB policies have had on students’ academic preparedness and college readiness. This study analyzed data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) and the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) to determine the extent to which the learning culture created by NCLB policies have impacted students’ and teachers’ non-cognitive characteristics and college readiness indicators.