No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has been the centerpiece of American education reform since 2002, and its reauthorization is three years overdue. To inform legislators and policy makers preparing to retool the legislation, SESP professors David Figlio and Thomas Cook will highlight important research findings during a policy briefing on Capitol Hill on February 22.
The Institute for Policy Research will present Diane Schanzenbach of the University of Chicago along with Figlio and Cook for a panel discussion on "Improving No Child Left Behind: What the Research Shows." The three nationally known experts will examine effects of the current law, discuss their latest research and provide data-driven recommendations for creating a more effective law.
Specifically, Cook will discuss his extensive state-by-state study with SESP doctoral student Vivian Wong on NCLB's effects on reading and math achievement. This study was the first to establish a causal link between No Child Left Behind and improvements in student achievement. Figlio will explain what research reveals about school accountability. Two of his current research projects involve evaluating the largest school-voucher program in the United States and using a state census of public school principals to study school accountability in Florida.
Presentations are as follows:
- "Why NCLB Raises Math Scores: The Value of High State-Level Standards and Their Explicit Consequences for School Reform"
Thomas D. Cook, Joan and Sarepta Harrison Chair in Ethics and Justice; Professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Education & Social Policy; and Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University - "Students and NCLB: Who Gains, Who Loses?"
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Assistant Professor, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago - "Unpacking the Black Box of School Accountability"
David Figlio, Orrington Lunt Professor of Education & Social Policy; Professor of Economics; and Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University - Moderator:Therese McGuire, ConAgra Foods Research Professor in Strategic Management, Kellogg School of Management, and Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University
The briefing will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on February 22 at Rayburn House Office Building B-339 in Washington, D.C. Registration is required by Tuesday, February 16; reservations may be made online at http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/regform.html. Seating is limited, and lunch will be served. For more information, contact Patricia Reese at 847/491-8712 or p-reese@northwestern.edu.
Thomas D. Cook's research spans social science research methodology, program evaluation, whole school reform and contextual factors that influence adolescent development, particularly for urban minorities. David Figlio studies a range of education and tax issues, including school accountability and policy design. Figlio is a faculty affiliate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a senior researcher with the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER). He has been an adviser to several U.S. states and foreign nations on education policies.