ABSTRACT
School accountability for student performance lies at the very heart of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and consequently at the heart of much of the controversy surrounding it. While NCLB supporters tout it as landmark legislation demonstrating the government's commitment to educating underserved students and closing the achievement gap(s), others see it as unprecedented federal intrusion into arenas more appropriately left to the purview of states and local districts. Some focus on the unfairness of holding schools accountable for outcomes over which they have limited control. Others believe the "no excuses" approach is the only way to push the system to fulfill its promise to large numbers of students traditionally "left behind" in American schools.
