Effects of the four pillars on statewide high school graduation rates

This study investigated the relationship of statewide high school graduation rates
of student ethnic groups from 2002 to 2006 to the four policy pillars of the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001: Accountability for Results; Expanded Flexibility and Local
Control; Expanded Options for Parents, Strengthening Teacher Quality. The quantitative,
non-experimental, multivariate, correlational design addressed four research questions
and six hypotheses. The research population was composed of high school students in all
50 states and the District of Columbia. The predictor variables were the four policy pillars themselves. Data were collected through archival reports from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) and State Accountability Report Workbooks provided by state departments of education to create an index of implementation to determine the extent to which the four policy
pillars were implemented. The criterion variable was high school graduation rate split
across student ethnic groups. Graduation rates of subgroup student populations were collected from the Average Freshman Graduation Rates archives for the ninth grade
cohort entering in 2001 and exiting in 2006. Data were analyzed both by a one-factor
correlational analysis of covariance with one covariate to determine the impact of each
NCLB policy pillar, and by a four-factor analysis of covariance with one covariate to
determine the impact of all NCLB policy pillars together. The study found that no significant relationships existed between any of the four NCLB policy pillars, singularly or between all four of the policy pillars together, and statewide high school graduation rates among any student racial or ethnic subgroups for the academic years covered in the study. Reasons for the lack of significant relationships are a source for further study. It is recommended that such studies examine the effect of policy implementation that currently allows: (a) each state to set its own test and measurement standards or its own criteria for teacher certification; (b) parents to keep their children in failing schools even if those children are also failing; and (c) each state to underfund mandates.