Type 2
Issue No. 19
Fall 2005

Research Brief

Factors Affecting Implementation of NCLB Family Involvement Requirements

Passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act set off plenty of debate, with most of the discussions focusing on testing standards and requirements, teacher quality, and school choice. Title I, Section 1118, the provision of NCLB that calls for greater family involvement, receives less attention; however, it offers another important tool in the effort to improve student achievement.

Many explanations for variations in parent involvement focus on parents' race, income, and personal beliefs. But, these factors are difficult or impossible to affect. Past studies have shown that a strong, schoolwide approach to school, family, and community partnerships can increase parent involvement. NNPS conducted a study to identify the factors that affect how well a school meets NCLB family involvement requirements.

In 2003 and 2004, NNPS used UPDATE to survey over 450 elementary and secondary schools, located in urban, suburban, and rural areas. To determine the schools' implementation of family involvement activities, thirteen items from the questionnaire were examined, chosen based on their correspondence to the family involvement requirements specified by NCLB. After taking into consideration school level and locale, NNPS looked at the effects on NCLB implementation of Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) meeting frequency and structure, principal turnover and support for partnerships, and district support for partnerships.

Action Teams for Partnerships

Schools whose ATPs met more frequently (monthly) tended to conduct NCLB parent involvement requirements more than those who met less often. With other factors taken into account, schools with ATPs organized into subcommittees tended to follow more of the NCLB guidelines, suggesting that ATPs organized in this way tend to create a better organization for partnerships.

Principal Turnover and Support

Schools with higher rates of principal turnover tended to implement fewer NCLB parent involvement requirements, and, not surprisingly, tended to have less principal support for partnerships. Longitudinal analyses showed that once previous NCLB implementation is taken into consideration, principal turnover did not have a significant effect, suggesting that strong and stable partnership programs can overcome changes in school leadership.

District Support for Partnerships

Schools were more likely to implement NCLB requirements for family involvement if they reported stronger support for partnership programs from their district leaders. This suggests that systemic support by district leaders is important for increasing the quality of school partnership programs.

This study revealed the importance of strong ATPs that meet regularly, principal support, and district leadership on school, family, and community partnerships. Because of the wide variety of schools surveyed, implementation of the NNPS model very likely provides a way for all schools to comply with the family involvement requirements of NCLB.

Sheldon, S. B. (2005, August) This paper was presented at the Sociology of Education Section No Child Left Behind Conference at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Philadelphia. My appreciation goes to Joseph Brownstein for his assistance in preparing this research brief.