Perspectives on the “No Child Left Behind” Law in Massachusetts

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 sets forth reforms in the public education system to spur academic improvement. It allows parents with children in schools that do not meet certain standards to transfer their children to schools within the same district that do meet performance standards. What has been the response so far in Massachusetts? At a February 12, 2004 Pioneer Forum, Harvard government professor William G. Howell presented the results of a Pioneer-commissioned statewide parental survey. Local school district and national perspectives were offered by, respectively, Joseph Burke, Springfield’s school superintendent, and Michael Sentance, New England regional representative for the U.S. secretary of education. Excerpts of each speaker’s remarks follow.

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