When Opting Out is Not a Choice: Implications for NCLB's Transfer Option from Charlotte, North Carolina

Authors: Mickelson, Roslyn; Southworth1, Stephanie

Source: Equity & Excellence in Education, Volume 38, Number 3, August 2005 , pp. 249-263(15)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $50.43 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

A key provision of No Child Left Behind is the opportunity for students to transfer from a low-performing school to a high-performing one. Drawing from a case study of school reform in Charlotte, North Carolina, this article examines the implementation and early outcomes of NCLB's voluntary transfer option for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS) district. For the 2004–05 school year, fully 92% of the eligible families did not exercise their choice to exit from their low-performing schools. The experiences of CMS illustrate how larger social, economic, and political contexts constrain the implementation of standards-based reforms like NCLB in general and, in particular, the limitations of the transfer option for improving academic achievement and educational equity.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10665680591002632

Publication date: 2005-08-01