STANDARDS-BASED EDUCATION UNDER NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT OF 2001

Over the past forty years education in America hasbeen in a reform mode. The latest reform has come in the form of theNo Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). NCLB has dictatedstandards to all schools in the nation. While many schools havejoined the reform movement, few have made the systemic changesnecessary to sustain achievement. A particular concern amongreformers is the effect of standards reform on the urban and/or ruralpoor. This book examines one rural school district'sefforts to develop a standards-based education program. This school meetsthe federal criteria for both poor and rural having 100% of itsstudents qualifying for the free and reduced lunch program. In addition, over 30% of the student population comes to school withoutknowledge of the English language. In spite of these apparentdisadvantages, the school has achieved success as exhibited by agrowth of over 100 points as measured by the California AcademicPerformance Index (API).A qualitative, descriptive-analytic case studymethodology was employed to provide an in-depth investigation of theschool site's implementation of fiduciary and curricular matters.