Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School Innovation

The article discusses how instead of being parts of a concerted educational reform effort, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the development of charter schools are in fact contradictory initiatives.  Basing itself on a theoretical framework that brings together issues inherent to outcome-based school...

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Main Author: Peter Clyde Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Arizona State University 2015-03-01
Series:Current Issues in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1346
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author Peter Clyde Martin
author_facet Peter Clyde Martin
author_sort Peter Clyde Martin
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description The article discusses how instead of being parts of a concerted educational reform effort, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the development of charter schools are in fact contradictory initiatives.  Basing itself on a theoretical framework that brings together issues inherent to outcome-based school reform and arguments supporting and criticizing both NCLB and charter schools, the article examines the case of a specific charter school whose program was significantly altered due to pressures imposed by NCLB.  School reports, plans, programmatic descriptions, and other documents are reviewed to examine how the school responded over a three-year period to low test scores that may or may not have been a reflection of instructional quality and how NCLB requirements eventually led it to move far away from its original reform-minded mission.  Implications regarding how NCLB can undermine the innovative possibilities of charter schools are discussed.
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spelling doaj.art-4d4d238e2dcb47e3bbdbe70d60135e8a2022-12-21T19:32:45ZengArizona State UniversityCurrent Issues in Education1099-839X2015-03-01181Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School InnovationPeter Clyde Martin0Ithaca collegeThe article discusses how instead of being parts of a concerted educational reform effort, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the development of charter schools are in fact contradictory initiatives.  Basing itself on a theoretical framework that brings together issues inherent to outcome-based school reform and arguments supporting and criticizing both NCLB and charter schools, the article examines the case of a specific charter school whose program was significantly altered due to pressures imposed by NCLB.  School reports, plans, programmatic descriptions, and other documents are reviewed to examine how the school responded over a three-year period to low test scores that may or may not have been a reflection of instructional quality and how NCLB requirements eventually led it to move far away from its original reform-minded mission.  Implications regarding how NCLB can undermine the innovative possibilities of charter schools are discussed.https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1346No Child Left BehindCharter SchoolsBilingual EducationHigh-Stakes TestingInnovation
spellingShingle Peter Clyde Martin
Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School Innovation
Current Issues in Education
No Child Left Behind
Charter Schools
Bilingual Education
High-Stakes Testing
Innovation
title Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School Innovation
title_full Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School Innovation
title_fullStr Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School Innovation
title_full_unstemmed Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School Innovation
title_short Contradictory Reforms: When NCLB Undermines Charter School Innovation
title_sort contradictory reforms when nclb undermines charter school innovation
topic No Child Left Behind
Charter Schools
Bilingual Education
High-Stakes Testing
Innovation
url https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1346
work_keys_str_mv AT peterclydemartin contradictoryreformswhennclbunderminescharterschoolinnovation