Incentives, capacity, and implementation: evidence from Massachusetts Education Reform.

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, January, 2006 by McDermott, Kathryn A.

The U.S. public education system is notoriously difficult to change because of its loose coupling and institutional complexity. Since the 1980s, the dominant approach to education reform has been standards-based reform. The goal of standards-based reform is to improve students' academic performance by using student testing and accountability policies as incentives for change. The standards-based reform movement began at the state level. More recently, federal legislation including the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has required states to implement standards-based reform as a condition of receiving funds for compensatory education programs. Under NCLB, schools and districts where students' test scores do not show "adequate yearly progress" must be subject to a...

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