Summary:
Educational leaders have faced the challenges of trying to align schoolwide reforms priorities with accountability demands under the No Child Left Behind law. This article examines the barriers that complicate meaningful alignment among federal, state and local levels. This article also offers the following recommendations: Schools and districts should assess the fit between reforms and state priorities; States should actively support planning and implementation of school-level reform; States should develop a coherent organizational approach to school improvement; States should sustain leadership continuity; States should expand its database to monitor school-wide reform programs and include data on school resources/ school inputs. FULL MANUSCRIPT AVAILABLE AT: http://cnx.org/content/m37175/latest/