The Logic of the U.S. Educational System and Teaching

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT) are part of a widely heralded and visible change effort, providing a powerful force—replete with evidence, logic, money, and voice—that is changing public schooling away from locally run and state-subsidized, into a federal-state-controlled enterprise. The article begins by situating the impact of NCLB/RTTT on quality teaching within the story of a 50-year effort by educators, politicians, researchers, and those generally dissatisfied—or perhaps wanting a piece of K–12's annual $850 billion dollars—to exert more control over public schools. It then explains the organizational and bureaucratic direction the reform has taken, as well as the reigning notion that identifies teachers as both the problem and the solution. The article concludes by exploring how and why—even in the face of reform—the basic issues of effectiveness, efficiency, and most importantly, equality, remain problematic.