Running head: PERCEPTIONS Teachers ’ Perceptions of NCLB: A Multi-Year Study

The goal of accountability policies, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), is to improve educational outcomes for students. However, previous research suggests that negative, unintended consequences may be more prevalent than the intended outcomes. This study was conducted to understand teachers ’ perceptions of the impact of NCLB in four areas: aspects of education, pressure to increase test scores, school focus on increasing test scores versus improving overall student learning, and extent of narrowing and/or refocusing of curriculum and instruction. Perceptions of teachers of core subject areas in elementary and MS/HS schools were examined during two study periods (2004-05 and 2006-07). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe how teachers perceived the impact of actions in response to NCLB and to examine how teachers ’ perceptions evolved over the course of the two study periods. The results of this study indicate that teachers perceive both positive and negative impacts, with perceptions appearing to have improved from the 2004-05 study period to the 2006-07 study period. These findings have a number of practical implications as well as implications for future research