Despite good intentions: Urban teachers' perspectives of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Standardized test scores over the last several years have consistently indicated that low-income students perform academically at levels below their higher income peers. Various reform measures have been implemented in an effort to raise the academic achievement levels of low-income students, as measured by standardized tests, in order to close this gap. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is the most recent of these reform initiatives. This federal act specifically targets low-income youth and failing public schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 evaluates schools, teachers, and students solely on the basis of scores derived from standardized tests. As a case study using qualitative research methodology this dissertation explored the impact of this reform initiative from the perspectives of teachers in an urban school placed on school improvement status under the requirements of NCLB. Additionally, as a critical research study it explored how the social and political context of schooling impacted the ability of the school to respond to this reform initiative. A primary goal of this critical research study was to determine if NCLB lived up to its promise to improve the quality of education found in this low-income urban school. The major findings of this study indicated that teachers were marginalized and deprofessionalized, the scope of the curriculum was narrowed and focused primarily on preparing students for standardized tests, and students of color and students with disabilities were excluded in the process of implementing the requirements of NCLB. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the mandated requirements of NCLB inflicted further academic violence on those with the least resources to respond and will not prove to be effective in improving the overall quality of education urban students receive in public schools.