When the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002, it was with the goal of making American students competitive in the global economy, and lowering the achievement gap for low-income and minority students. Educators and politicians were troubled by the intractable achievement gaps that seemed only to grow worse with each passing year. The achievement gap between white and minority students reached their lowest levels in 1988, and after that point had plateaued and stagnated. One of the major goals of NCLB was to tackle this issue and ensure that “every single child, regardless of where they live, how they 're raised, the income level of their family...receive a first-class education in America.”
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This is particularly true for students in low-income, urban school districts with high minority populations. In order provide a fresh outlook on these unintended consequences of NLCB, and to further solidify the veracity of Secretary Duncan and Ravitch’s claims, this study chose to focus on the impact of NCLB on three low-income urban school districts in Pennsylvania. This study examined high school graduation rates and SAT scores in these three districts from the year NLCB was implemented through the 2012-2013 school year. The study expected to find that despite a heavy emphasis on math and reading under NCLB, student scores on the SAT in math and verbal reasoning remained stagnant or declined because of the lowered proficiency standards put in place by the …show more content…
Before delving into the case study, it will then explain the measures used (graduation rates and SAT scores) and the sources of the data. Then, these measures will be applied to three public school districts in Pennsylvania, and compare and contrast the these districts with overall state and national trends. Finally, this study will conclude with several possible explanations for the observed trends, and give several suggestions for further research into this
This is particularly true for students in low-income, urban school districts with high minority populations. In order provide a fresh outlook on these unintended consequences of NLCB, and to further solidify the veracity of Secretary Duncan and Ravitch’s claims, this study chose to focus on the impact of NCLB on three low-income urban school districts in Pennsylvania. This study examined high school graduation rates and SAT scores in these three districts from the year NLCB was implemented through the 2012-2013 school year. The study expected to find that despite a heavy emphasis on math and reading under NCLB, student scores on the SAT in math and verbal reasoning remained stagnant or declined because of the lowered proficiency standards put in place by the …show more content…
Before delving into the case study, it will then explain the measures used (graduation rates and SAT scores) and the sources of the data. Then, these measures will be applied to three public school districts in Pennsylvania, and compare and contrast the these districts with overall state and national trends. Finally, this study will conclude with several possible explanations for the observed trends, and give several suggestions for further research into this