State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act

A key component of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was to provide options to parents whose children had been attending Title I schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring due to failure to achieve adequate yearly progress toward meeting state standards for two or more years. Under NCLB, parents have the option of (1) transferring their children to another school in the district that is not in need of improvement or (2) enrolling their children in supplemental education services (e.g., tutoring, remediation, or other academic instruction) in addition to instruction provided during the school day. This study used data from nine large, urban school districts to examine the characteristics of students participating in the two options and the resulting impact on student achievement. The study found the following: that participation was highest in elementary grades; that African-American students had the highest participation rates of all racial and ethnic groups; that participating students had lower achievement levels than eligible but nonparticipating students; that students who transferred tended to transfer to higher-achieving, racially balanced schools; and that there was no statistically significant (positive or negative) effect on achievement among students participating in the school-choice option.

Reprinted with permission from “State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act: Volume I — Title I School Choice, Supplemental Educational Services and Student Achievement,” by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Development, Policy and Program Studies Service, Washington D.C., 2007.