Literacy and Accountability: The High Stakes of High-Stakes Assessments

Abstract

This inaugural issue of the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (JoCI) highlights the efforts of teachers, teacher educators, and reading researchers as they seek to implement exemplary literacy practice during a time when such efforts have been seriously challenged, undermined, and impacted by a variety of political influences. Since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law in January of 2002, federal, state, and local accountability mandates have mushroomed resulting in the administration of high-stakes assessments at alltime highs. Policymakers from both sides of the aisle echoed the sentiments of Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy who described this landmark legislation in apocalyptic terms.