Cover -- Preface -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Summary -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter One - Introduction -- Standards-Based Accountability -- Evidence Concerning SBA Effectiveness -- How SBA Is Supposed to Work -- District and School Responses to Accountability -- Classroom Practice -- Opinions and Attitudes -- Barriers and Capacity -- Evidence Concerning No Child Left Behind -- How the Monograph Is Organized -- Chapter Two - Study Design and Methods -- Sampling -- Instrumentation -- Data Collection -- Analyses -- Technical Notes -- Chapter Three - SBA Systems in California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania -- Introduction -- Prior Accountability Systems -- State Academic Content Standards -- State Testing Programs -- Adequate Yearly Progress Definitions -- AYP Status of Schools -- Specific AYP Targets Missed by Schools -- State Awards -- State Technical Assistance -- Implementing NCLB's Highly Qualified Teacher Provisions -- Summary -- Chapter Four - Educators' Opinions About Standards, Assessments, and Accountability -- State Content Standards -- State Assessments -- Adequate Yearly Progress -- The Effects of Accountability -- Summary -- Chapter Five - School and District Improvement Strategies -- School Improvement Strategies -- Data-Based Decisionmaking -- Curriculum and Instructional Alignment -- Activities Targeting Low-Performing Students -- Other School Improvement Strategies -- District and State Technical Assistance -- Summary -- Chapter Six - Instructional Practices Related to Standards and Assessments -- Changes in Time Spent on Tested and Nontested Subjects -- Alignment of Instruction with State Standards and Assessments -- Effects of State Tests on Practices -- Instructional Activities in Mathematics and Science -- Summary -- Chapter Seven - Perceived Barriers to School Improvement -- Funding -- Instructional Resources -- Staffing.

Skills and Knowledge -- Professional Development -- Instructional and Planning Time -- Conditions Outside of School -- Students with Special Needs or Limited English Proficiency -- Changes in Policy and Leadership -- Summary -- Chapter Eight - Conclusions and Implications -- Key Findings -- Implications -- Conclusions -- Appendix A - Sampling and Survey Responses -- Appendix B - Supplementary Tables -- Appendix C - Superintendent, Principal, and Teacher Surverys -- References.