No Child Left Behind: The Dangers of Centralized Education Policy, Cato Policy Analysis No. 544
Executive SummaryThe No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), whichthe Bush administration claims as its proudestachievement in domestic policy, directly contradictsthe principles of an "ownership society,"which the administration is promoting in areassuch as Social Security reform. The administrationrecognizes that the educational policies ofthe last four decades, a period of almost uninterruptedcentralization, have failed, but its remedyis yet more centralization.The NCLB statute is a reform strategy at warwith itself. It virtually guarantees massive evasionof its own intent, ordering state education agenciesto do things that they mostly don
Content
Executive Summary
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which
the Bush administration claims as its proudest
achievement in domestic policy, directly contradicts
the principles of an "ownership society,"
which the administration is promoting in areas
such as Social Security reform. The administration
recognizes that the educational policies of
the last four decades, a period of almost uninterrupted
centralization, have failed, but its remedy
is yet more centralization.
The NCLB statute is a reform strategy at war
with itself. It virtually guarantees massive evasion
of its own intent, ordering state education agencies
to do things that they mostly don
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which
the Bush administration claims as its proudest
achievement in domestic policy, directly contradicts
the principles of an "ownership society,"
which the administration is promoting in areas
such as Social Security reform. The administration
recognizes that the educational policies of
the last four decades, a period of almost uninterrupted
centralization, have failed, but its remedy
is yet more centralization.
The NCLB statute is a reform strategy at war
with itself. It virtually guarantees massive evasion
of its own intent, ordering state education agencies
to do things that they mostly don
